Thirty men were sentenced on Saturday to between 10 years and life in prison for planning a suicide bombing on a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria and other charges, court officials said.

The authorities said at the time of their arrest that the defendants had embraced the ideas of the Islamic State and had received training abroad and in Egypt.

Twenty of the defendants who appeared in court did not react to the sentences, and there was no immediate comment from the lawyers representing them. The other 10 are still on the run and were sentenced in absentia.

The attack on the church did not take place. But minority Christians have faced a series of assaults in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt in recent years. </s> CAIRO - Thirty men were sentenced to between 10 years to life imprisonment on Saturday for planning a suicide bombing on a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria and other charges, a court official said.

Authorities said at the time of their arrest that the defendants had embraced the ideas of the Islamic State group and received training abroad and in Egypt.

Twenty of the defendants who appeared in court, dressed in white prison garb, did not react to the sentences, and there was no immediate comment from lawyers representing them. The other 10 are still on the run and were sentenced in absentia.

The attack on the church did not take place. But minority Christians have faced a series of assaults in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt in recent years.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide bombings on churches in Alexandria and Tanta in April 2017 that left 45 people dead.

The defendants were also accused of planning to bomb a liquor store in the Mediterranean city of Damietta, joining an illegal group and possessing weapons and explosives.

Eighteen of them received life terms, which are 25 years long in Egypt, eight got 15 years in prison and four were sentenced to 10 years, the head of the Alexandria Criminal Court, convened in Cairo, said.

Egyptian authorities have cracked down on Islamist groups since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely-elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. </s> An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 18 people to life in prison for joining ISIS and plotting to bomb a church, a judicial source said.

The state security criminal court in Cairo heard that some of the defendants had undergone “militant training” in Libya and Syria.

The prosecution in their investigation accused the defendants of planning a “suicide bombing” in July 2017 at a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the source said.

They were also convicted for plotting to bomb a liquor store the same year in the town of Damietta, 200 kilometers northeast of the capital.

ISIS claimed responsibility for twin church bombings on Palm Sunday in April 2017 that killed 45 people. One of the churches targeted was a Coptic cathedral in Alexandria.

Saturday’s sentence saw 30 defendants in total. Eight were given 15 years in prison and four others were handed 10-year jail sentences.

All were convicted for joining a “terrorist group”, planning terror acts as well as possession of explosives, firearms, and ammunition, the source said.

Egypt has been locked for the past year in deadly battles with insurgents affiliated with ISIS in its eastern Sinai Peninsula.

Around 600 suspected militants and 40 soldiers have been killed in an army offensive launched in February 2018, according to official figures. </s> In Egypt, a court sentenced 30 accused up to 25 years in prisons over terrorist charges and their affiliation with the Islamic State terror group.

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 18 defendants to 25 years, eight to 15 years and four others to 10 years for joining the terror outfit, possessing explosives and attempting to blow up a church in the seaside province of Alexandria.

The prosecution also charged the accused for targeting vital state institutions and receiving training with IS members in war-torn Syria and Libya. </s> Egypt sentences 18 to life in prison for Islamic State ties

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced 18 suspected militants to life in prison for allegedly forming a "terrorist cell" affiliated with the Islamic State group.

The Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced another 12 defendants to 10 to 15 years on charges that include plotting attacks on the country's Christian minority in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, assaulting security forces and disrupting public order.

All sentences are subject to appeal.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years, but the insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of a freely elected but divisive Islamist president.

Since then, courts have held mass trials and sentenced hundreds of people to death.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials. </s> CAIRO — An Egyptian court has sentenced 18 suspected militants to life in prison for allegedly forming a “terrorist cell” affiliated with the Islamic State group.

The Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced another 12 defendants to 10 to 15 years on charges that include plotting attacks on the country’s Christian minority in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, assaulting security forces and disrupting public order.

All sentences are subject to appeal.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years, but the insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of a freely elected but divisive Islamist president.

Since then, courts have held mass trials and sentenced hundreds of people to death.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> CAIRO - An Egyptian court has sentenced 18 suspected militants to life in prison for allegedly forming a “terrorist cell” affiliated with the Islamic State group.

The Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced another 12 defendants to 10 to 15 years on charges that include plotting attacks on the country’s Christian minority in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, assaulting security forces and disrupting public order.

All sentences are subject to appeal.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years, but the insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of a freely elected but divisive Islamist president.

Since then, courts have held mass trials and sentenced hundreds of people to death. </s> CAIRO — Egypt on Wednesday sentenced 35 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members to life in prison for allegedly forming "terrorist cells" to attack security forces and state institutions.

The Sohag Criminal Court in central Egypt sentenced another 155 defendants to three to 15 years on similar charges, including plotting to kill public figures and security officials, and joining an outlawed group, a reference to the Brotherhood. The verdict can be appealed, and 124 suspects who remain at large will be re-tried once they are apprehended.

Also on Wednesday, an Egyptian military court sentenced four suspected Muslim Brotherhood members to life imprisonment on terror-related charges, a defense lawyer said. Two of the suspects were sentenced in absentia and they will be re-tried once they are apprehended, Khaled el-Masry told The Associated Press.

The court sentenced two others to 10 years each and acquitted 13, he said. The charges include plotting militant attacks against the security personnel and bombing malls in Cairo in addition to belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood group, he said.

The Brotherhood won a series of free elections after Egypt's 2011 uprising, and a senior Brotherhood figure, Mohammed Morsi, was elected president in 2012. A year later, the military overthrew Morsi amid mass protests against his rule. Authorities have since branded the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Egypt has for years struggled to contain an Islamic insurgency in the turbulent Sinai region. It has carried out military operations there that, it says, have killed hundreds of militants and soldiers. The country is also facing a growing number of attacks in its Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya that authorities contend is used by both militants and smugglers.

In February, Egypt launched a massive security operation in Sinai, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert to target "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations." </s> Egypt's highest appeals court has upheld death sentences for four people over forming a "terrorist cell" to plot attacks on security forces and other institutions.

The court of cassation on Sunday also rejected an appeal by 14 other defendants against sentences of 15 years imprisonment in February over similar charges including joining an outlawed group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. The verdict is final.

Six defendants in the case were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia. They remain at large and will be re-tried once they are apprehended.

Egypt has cracked down on suspected Islamists since the military ousted president Mohamed Morsi of the Brotherhood in 2013.

Since then, hundreds of Islamists, including Brotherhood members, have been sentenced to death. The authorities have carried out dozens of executions.
Thirty men are sentenced in Egypt for planning an attack on a church in Alexandria, with eighteen men receiving life sentences and twelve men receiving between ten to fifteen years in prison.