Egypt's State Security Court sentenced on Wednesday nine defendants to life in prison for plotting to carry out acts of violence against state facilities and personnel, state-owned Al-Ahram reported. The court also sentenced another 4 defendants to 10 years in prison. The case, commonly known in the media as the "Nasr City Cell case", started in October 2013, when the police arrested the defendants in a raid on an apartment in Nasr City, claiming they were members of an ultra-conservative jihadist group. The defendants were charged with plotting to carry out attacks throughout Egypt, targeting police and army personnel, Christians, and diplomatic delegations. The prosecution's investigations showed that the members of the group aimed to attack strategic facilities, and possessed explosives and firearms at the time of their arrest. On Tuesday, seven men were sentenced to death and two others to life imprisonment by a military court on charges relating to a March raid that resulted in the deaths of five suspected militants and two army officers. The seven defendants sentenced to death were convicted of the murder of armed forces personnel, possession of weapons, resisting authorities, and involvement with the militant organisation Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.
