919 More of Brotherhood on Trial

The chief prosecutor for Egypt announced on Wednesday that he has ordered an additional two mass trials for 919 suspected Islamists, despite widespread criticism of earlier trials that resulted in mass death sentences. The new trials will be held in the same court that sentenced 529 defendants to death on Monday for killing a police officer last summer. The mass trials are part of a crackdown by authorities on the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as other sympathizers of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Roughly 16,000 people have been arrested over the past few months, including top leaders of the Brotherhood. In one of the two trials announced Wednesday, 715 defendants are charged with killing six people and attempting to kill 51 others in an attack on Aug. 14. In the second trial, 204 defendants are charged with inciting violence.