An Egyptian court sentenced 183 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death for their participation in the murder of police officers, Egyptian media reported today. The convicts were found guilty of taking part in the August 16 killing of 2013 police officers in the town of Kardasa, during violent protests that erupted after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, Reuters reported. Of the 183 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, 34 were convicted in absentia. Egyptian authorities are cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood, which supported former President Morsi, the first democratically elected head of state in Egypt's history. Thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have since been arrested and taken to court, as part of a campaign that human rights activists cite as evidence that the government in Cairo is systematically repressing its opponents. Egypt's current president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, calls the Muslim Brotherhood a major security threat, but the movement insists it is only engaged in peaceful activism.
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