Court sentenced 3 militant Jihad members to death

A military court in Egypt yesterday sentenced 3 militant Jihad members to death, two of them in their absence, and 53 others to imprisonment on charges of planning assassinations and bombings. The court freed 31 other suspects.

Among the 53 sent to prison, two were jailed for life and the others got prison terms ranging from one year to 15 years of hard labor.

The Al Ahram reported that those condemned to death in absentia were fugitives Adel Abdel Maguid and Ibrahim El-sayd El Naggar who were convicted of sending money to Egypt to revive Jihad's underground, anti-government activities.

Adel El Soudani received a death sentence for packing a car with explosives to blow up Cairo's bazaar district of Khan El Khalili, which is a tourist attraction, an official said yesterday.