DHAKA: A court in Egypt has sentenced 11 supporters of deposed president Mohammed Mursi to prison terms ranging from five to 88 years for rioting.

The defendants were arrested during a wave of protests that followed the ousting of Mursi last year.

In March more than 500 Mursi supporters were sentenced to death in the same court in Minya, south of Cairo.

The case comes amid a continuing crackdown against Islamists by Egypt’s military-backed government.

Five of the 11 people sentenced on Saturday were tried in absentia.

The charges against all of the defendants were linked to demonstrations in the town of Samallout triggered by the violent crackdown on pro-Mursi sit-ins in Cairo.

Hundreds of people died and thousands were wounded in the operation by security forces.

All those convicted on Saturday are able to appeal against the verdicts.

BDST: 1932 HRS, APR 27, 2014