A military court in Egypt on Tuesday sentenced 36 out of 48 defendants to death for their involvement in the deadly bombings on two churches in Alexandria and Tanta in April 2017.
According to the country’s health ministry, the strikes, which targeted Egypt’s persecuted and vulnerable Christian minority on the first day of the faith’s Holy Week leading up to Easter, left at least 45 dead/
At least 28 people died in a bomb blast inside a church in the northern city of Tanta, while in Alexandria, 17 people – including civilians and police officers – were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Coptic church.
At least 125 people were injured in the attacks.
Both attacks were claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.
31 of the defendants are in custody while 17 are fugitives.
The military court referred the case to the country’s Grand Mufti for his non-binding opinion on the death sentence as per Egyptian law. The verdict is subject to appeal.
