New Muslim Brotherhood mass trial opens in Egypt with nearly 700 defendants.

New Muslim Brotherhood mass trial opens in Egypt with nearly 700 defendants.(maan).

Around 700 supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, including the supreme guide of his Muslim Brotherhood movement, were Tuesday due in court, a day after 529 co-defendants were sentenced to death.

The trial of more than 1,200 Islamists in the southern province of Minya comes amid a sweeping crackdown on Morsi's supporters since his overthrow by the army last July.

They are accused of killing two policemen and rioting on August 14, after police killed hundreds of protesters while dispersing two Cairo protest camps.

Monday's largest mass death sentencing in Egypt's modern history came after just two hearings and drew criticism from rights groups, the United States and European Union.

Legal experts said the shock verdict would likely be overturned on appeal because the court had rushed the trial without following the required procedures.

Washington and the European Union expressed concern and questioned the fairness of proceedings against so many defendants lasting just two days.

But Egypt's army-installed interim government defended the court's handling of the case, insisting that the sentences had been handed down only "after careful study" and were subject to appeal.Read the full story here.