Egypt court hands 28 Morsi supporters life sentences

An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced 28 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to life in prison in absentia after they were found guilty of violence in the Upper Egyptian province of Fayyoum in March, state news agency MENA reported.

MENA did not give more details about the ruling but said Egyptian prosecutors have accused the 28 of "harming the national unity, social peace, using violence, protesting without a police permit, and attacking public and private property."

They were also charged with belonging to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood which has been banned by Egypt as a "terrorist group."

The Monday hearing was set up for 43 Morsi supporters, but only 15 appeared at the court and were jailed for three years over the same charges.

Since the ouster of Morsi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, in July last year, hundreds of his supporters have been arrested and given jail terms or death sentences.

In March, a court in the southern city of Minya sentenced to death 529 supporters of the ousted president.

In April, the same court handed the death penalty to 683 Morsi backers in another mass trial that caused a huge international outrage.