Egypt courts jail more than 160 Morsi backers

An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced 126 supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to 10 years in prison each in a mass trial over protest violence, judicial sources said.

Another court, in Cairo, sentenced a further 37 alleged Morsi supporters to 15 years in prison for trying to set off bombs during a protest at a metro station last year.

The 126 found guilty in the northern province of Kafr El-Sheikh were accused of rioting and attacking security forces on August 16, two days after police killed hundreds of Morsi supporters in the capital.

They were also charged with belonging to a banned group, a reference to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

The army-installed government has rounded up thousands of Morsi supporters and held mass trials since his ouster in July last year.

The court in Kafr El-Sheikh also sentenced six other people to a year in prison each, although the charges against them were not immediately available.

Judicial sources said that all those convicted in Kafr El-Sheikh on Sunday were also fined 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about US$143, 111 euros) each.

A relentless crackdown on Morsi's supporters has killed more than 1,400 people, and hundreds have been sentenced to death after speedy trials.