Minya Criminal Court handed down the death penalty to 529 people accused of attacking a police station last summer. The sentence will now be considered by the Grand Mufti, as per Egyptian law. A total of 545 people, believed to be supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, faced trial for attacking a police station, the killing of one policeman, the attempted murder of a two others, firing and seizing weapons from the police station, according to state-owned media Al-Ahram. Sixteen of the defendants in the case were found to be innocent, reported state-run MENA Violence spread across Egypt following the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August. The governorate of Minya saw some of the worst violence, much of it sectarian. Amnesty International, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, and Human Rights Watch all called for increased protection of Coptic Christians around the country.
