Egypt court asks Mufti to weigh in on death sentences for 13
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
An Egyptian court has referred the case of 13 defendants facing terrorism charges to the country's top religious authority, the Grand Mufi, for a non-binding opinion on whether they can be potentially executed as the prosecution seeks.
The Ismailia Criminal Court says Monday that they are members of a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in the restive northern Sinai peninsula.
The men are accused of killing two people, including a police officer, while trying to escape from their prison in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia in October.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The verdict can be appealed, and the presiding judge may rule independently of the Mufti. The verdict is set for July 12.
Egypt has struggled to contain a long-running Islamic insurgency in Sinai.