Egypt court sentences 528 Morsi supporters to death

An Egyptian court on Monday in Cairo, sentenced to death 528 supporters of toppled president Mohammed Morsi.

The court however acquitted seventeen other defendants.

They were found guilty of charges ranging from rioting to attacking police facilities in the southern city of Minya.

Judge Saeed Youssef said all defendants have the right to appeal.

The case which was the biggest trial in Egypt, opened on Saturday with about 1,200 defendants from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was toppled by the army in July after mass protests against his one-year rule.

Hundreds of his supporters were killed in security crackdowns that followed his overthrow and thousands were detained.

In December, the military-backed government designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.