Egypt court upholds designation of Brotherhood as terror group

A Cairo court on Monday upheld a government decision taken in December to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

Since the overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, the Brotherhood had been blamed for militant attacks, mainly targeting security forces.

A bomb attack against a tourist bus in South Sinai last week killed four people.

Conviction for terrorism-related offensives in Egypt can carry the death penalty.

The Brotherhood had repeatedly denied responsibility for the attacks.

The court’s decision came as Egypt's prosecutor referred 504 people, including senior Brotherhood after the security forces killed hundreds in a crackdown on pro-Morsi protest camps.

They are charged with spreading chaos and attacking policemen.

Earlier on Monday, another court handed down five-year jail sentences to 19 students accused of rioting during clashes between Morsi supporters and security forces in December, local media reported.

The students, all from the al-Azhar University which is a Brotherhood stronghold, were also fined 14,358 dollars each, state-run newspaper, Al-Ahram, reported online.

The government last week postponed the start of the new university term from Feb. 22 to March 8, citing security concerns.

The sentences came as a court for urgent cases ordered the Interior Ministry to reinstate on-campus security to deal with rising protests at universities.

The unpopular force was banned in 2010, months before the 2011 revolution that overthrew long-term ruler Hosny Mubarak, who tolerated limited student protests.

The Higher Universities Council last week banned all protests on campuses.

Egypt's military-backed authorities have clamped down on dissent since army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi in July announced the removal Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president.

More than 20,000 people have been detained by security forces since July, according to activists.