CAIRO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court decided on Monday to send case papers of 13 defendants to the country's Grand Mufti, the top official of Islamic law, for his non-binding opinion on their execution.
The defendants were convicted of premeditated murder of a police officer and a civilian during a jailbreak attempt in 2016 in Egypt's Suez Canal city of Ismailia, official MENA news agency reported.
Ismailia Criminal Court has set July 12 to pronounce the verdict.
Five convicts attended the trial, while the eight others were tried in absentia, MENA said, adding that four of the defendants belong to the Sinai State terrorist group, an offshoot of the global Islamic State terrorist organization.
Terrorism prevailed in Egypt since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in early July 2013 in response to mass protests against his 12-month reign and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Terror attacks killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in restive North Sinai province northeast Cairo before they gradually extended to other provinces, where dozens of civilians, mainly Christians were killed.
