The Assiut Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced 24 Brotherhood supporters to life imprisonment, five others to periods ranging from one year to three years, dropped charges against two defendants who died and acquitted 141 others in the case known as "al-Ghanayem."
The case involves 172 Brotherhood supporters of which 76 are being tried in absentia. They are charged with storming the al-Ghanayem police station, stealing weapons from it and setting it and other government buildings on fire.
The defendants and their families screamed when they heard the verdict and some of them fainted.
Police in cooperation with the armed forces on Thursday morning secured vital installations in the village of al-Ghanayem in anticipation of riots.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
