Obama hardest hit.

(Reuters) – The Muslim Brotherhood’s top official Mohamed Badie and 14 others were sentenced to life in jail today on charges of murder and inciting violence during a protest near Cairo last year. The court session had been designated for witness statements to be heard but the judge issued a verdict.

Badie, the general guide of the Brotherhood, is among hundreds of the group’s members who were sentenced to death in mass trials this year, which drew criticism from Western governments and human rights groups.

The death sentences are subject to appeal.

In what is known as the Bahr al-Azam case, Badie and the other defendants were convicted of the murder of five people and the attempted murder of 100 others during violence that broke out in Giza on 15 July 2013.