[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Monday upheld death sentences for five members of the Muslim Brotherhood [BBC backgrounder] on charges of killing policemen in 2013. The charges include attempted murder, weapons possession and violence stemming from an incident known as the “Kerdasa massacre,” when supporters of the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi [BBC Backgrounder; JURIST news archive] stormed a police station killing 11 policemen and two civilians. Hundreds of other Brotherhood leaders and members have been sentenced for the violence associated with the massacre. The five defendants were originally sentenced last month, and Monday’s ruling [IANS report] comes after approval by the the mufti of the republic, the highest religious authority in the country. The sentence can still be appealed to a higher court.

The past year has seen a significant government crackdown on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and former president Morsi, punctuated with a number of mass arrests and death sentences. In early February a court in Egypt confirmed [JURIST report] death sentences for 183 supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Morsi, and Amnesty International [advocacy website] said that it has gathered evidence that the Egyptian government is covering up the deaths [JURIST report] of more than two dozen people who died in protests on the anniversary of the 2011 uprisings. In January security forces in Egypt arrested [JURIST report] 516 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood according to Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. Also in January an Egyptian court ordered the retrial [JURIST report] for 152 Muslim Brotherhood supporters sentenced in a mass trial last year. Thirty-seven were sentenced to death, and 115 others were sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in attacks against Egyptian Christians and their churches in August 2013.