Cairo: A Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced 31 persons to death on charges of involvement in the assassination of Egypt`s former attorney general, officials said.


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Hisham Barakat, who was 63 years old when he was appointed attorney general by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following a military coup against Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, was assassinated in a June 2015 terror attack, Efe news reported.


The 31 men have been charged with crimes including premeditated murder, belonging to a terrorist group, joining a foreign terror organisation, possessing and manufacturing explosives, illegally possessing firearms and blades, illegally crossing the border and espionage.


The prosecution also accused them of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood -- considered a terrorist group by the current Egyptian government -- and to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.


The ruling is set to be sent to the Egyptian Mufti, an Islamic scholar and legal expert, although his opinion is non-binding.


The definitive verdict is scheduled for July 22.