An Egyptian top court upheld on Tuesday putting the names of 135 loyalists of the currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group on terrorist lists, official MENA news agency reported. The Court of Cassation declined the appeal of the defendants against their addition along with 90 others to terror lists by Cairo Criminal Court over accusations of forming pro-Brotherhood Helwan Battalions militant group to carry out attacks against police personnel and premises as well as public service farcilites. The Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed by a court order a couple of months following the military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in early July 2013 in response to mass protests against his 12-month rule. A lot of Brotherhood leaders, members and supporters, including Morsi himself and the groups top chief Mohamed Badie, are currently jailed, and many have received appealable death sentences and life imprisonments over various charges varying from inciting violence and murder to espionage and jailbreak. Since Morsis ouster, Egypt has been facing a wave of terror attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, with a Sinai-based militant group affiliated with the regional Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claiming responsibility for most of them. Meanwhile, the Egyptian forces have killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the countrys anti-terror war declared by newly re-elected President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsis removal.
