Egypt Jails 113 Muslim Brotherhood Supporters

FILE - Students of Al-Azhar University, who are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, clash with riot police and residents at the university campus in Cairo's Nasr City district on January 8, 2014.

Egyptian courts have convicted 113 supporters of Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi on a range of charges stemming from violent and unauthorized political protests.

One court in Cairo sentenced 63 people to three years in prison and a fine of $7,000 for taking part in protests in November. Another Cairo court sentenced 24 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to three years for attacking policemen and being part of a terrorist gang.

A third court sentenced 26 students of Al Azhar University, where protests are frequent, to two-and-a-half years each for vandalism and violent clashes.

The Egyptian government in November passed a law banning all but police-sanctioned protests.

In December, the government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, accusing it of violent acts.

The Muslim Brotherhood says it is committed to peaceful protest.

The sentences mark the single largest number of Muslim Brotherhood supporters punished at one time since democratically-elected President Morsi was toppled by the army in July.

Some information for this story was provided by AFP and Reuters.