国际英语新闻:Egypt court sentences 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death

CAIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Monday confirmed death sentences for 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters over charges of killing 16 policemen in August, 2013, state-run Nile TV reported.

The defendants were among 188 who received preliminary death sentences in December, 2014.

The initial sentences were sent to the grand mufti, Egypt's highest authority for Islamic law, for ratification.

In Monday's verdict, the court approved the death sentences for 183 and acquitted two others. The sentence of a minor was reduced to 10 years in prison.

The court also dropped the charges against two others who are dead now.

In August, 2013, the 188 men stormed a police station in Kerdassa, a town on the outskirts of Cairo, killing 16 policemen.

The attack came in response to the deadly dispersal of two protest camps staged by Brotherhood members in Cairo after Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military on July 3, 2013. Hundreds of protesters were killed.

Since Morsi's ouster, thousands of Muslim brotherhood members and supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials.