Four unnamed defendants out of 18 were referred to the grand mufti after the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced them to death on Sunday, according to state media. The court will either uphold or reject the death sentences, and issue a verdict on the remaining defendants on 28 February 2015. The "headquarter trial" case includes Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and his two deputies, Khairat El-Shater and Mohamed Bayoumi. Along with the remaining defendants, they are charged with inciting the killing of protesters, premeditated murder, and possession of firearms, among other crimes, during the 30 June 2013 demonstrations that ousted former president Mohamed Morsi. Badie was arrested from a Nasr City apartment on 20 August 2013, while El-Shater was arrested on 5 July 2013. Morsi has been detained since his ouster in July 2013. His location was unknown until his first appearance in court on 4 November 2013. Badie was handed two death sentences in June, one preliminary and one ratified. After the ouster of Morsi in July 2013, death sentences to Brotherhood members and affiliates have been on the rise. Human Rights Watch called recent mass death sentences of alleged Muslim Brotherhood members "blatantly unjust".
