On Saturday, Minya Criminal Court sentenced 13 Muslim Brotherhood members from 5 to 65 years in prison with labor, over rioting and protesting in the governorate.
Three suspects attended the session, while the rest were tried in absentia.
The same court cleared Mamdouh Mabrouk, head of the Brotherhood’s administrative office in Minya, and three other leaders from charges of inciting violence and resisting authorities in the province.
Lawyers and the suspects were surprised by the judges who headed directly to the platform to issue the verdict without hearing the defense, which “indicated their innocence,” according to the suspects and lawyers.
The same court had earlier sentenced 528 Muslim Brotherhood members to death and cleared 16 others.
All of the 545 suspects face charges of taking part in violence in Minya after dispersal of Rabaa al-Adaweya and Nahda sit-ins in August.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
