DHAKA: Nearly 500 alleged Islamists will go on trial on July 16 over violence in which 44 people died, state media said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of mass trials slammed internationally.

The trial is part of a relentless crackdown targeting supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, ousted by the army in July 2013.

Hundreds have already been sentenced to death in speedy mass trials condemned by the United Nations and international rights groups.

Since Mursi’s ouster, a government crackdown on his supporters has seen 15,000 people jailed and sparked clashes in which more than 1,400 people have died, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 2051 HRS, JUNE 24, 2014