Egyptian criminal court sentences 23 people to 14 years in prison for killing four Shiite men
An Egyptian court has sentenced 23 people to 14 years in prison for the deaths of four Shiite men two years ago.
The four were beaten to death west of Cairo, when a crowd of angry villagers, including ultraconservative Salafis, surrounded the house of Shiite community leader Hassan Shehata, threatening to set it on fire if 34 Shiites inside did not leave the village before the end of the day, according to security officials.
According to officials, when they refused, villagers attacked them, dragged them along the ground, and partially burned the house.
Shiites are a minority in Egypt, which is largely Sunni.
