[JURIST] The Giza Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced 69 Muslim Brotherhood [JURIST news archive] supporter to 25 years in prison for attacking and burning a church in a village near Cairo in 2013 during protests against former president Mohamed Morsi [JURIST news archive]. In addition, Judge Mohamed Nagi Shehata also sentenced [Reuters report] two other juvenile defendants to 10 years in prison without the opportunity for parole. The defendants were charged with torching religious facility, possessing weapons and unlicensed ammunition, attempted killing, blocking of roads, resisting authorities and joining the banned political party. The sentences may be appealed.

Political conflict in Egypt has been ongoing since the ouster of Morsi in 2013, and political backlash has been particularly strong against his Muslim Brotherhood party. Earlier this month an Egyptian Criminal Court in Giza sentenced 22 people to death [JURIST report] for their involvement in the storming of a police station and killing of an officer on the day Morsi was overthrown. Also this month an Egyptian prosecutor referred [JURIST report] 187 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to a military court. The supporters are accused of killing police officers while storming a Maghagha police station in the southern province of Minya in August 2013, only weeks after the removal of Morsi. In late March an Egyptian court acquitted 68 people [JURIST report], including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were charged with gathering illegally and attacking security forces earlier this year. Also last month an Egyptian court sentenced [JURIST report] a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 13 others to death after finding them guilty of planning attacks against the state.