An Egyptian criminal court referred on Saturday the files of 37 defendants to the Grand Mufti, the country's top Islamic jurist, for his non-binding opinion on their execution over terrorist charges, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The court will pronounce the verdict on March 2.
The 37 defendants have been tried in a case including 208 defendants over a failed attempt to assassinate a former interior minister, murdering policemen and bombing security buildings since 2013.
The prosecution also accused the defendants of joining and leading terrorist groups and spying in favor of a foreign organization.
The dependents include Hisham al-Ashmawy, a leading terrorist who was extradited in late May last year to Egypt from Libya where he was detained by the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.
Ashmawy belonged to a Sinai-based terrorist group loyal to the Islamic State regional group, which claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist attacks in Egypt over the past few years.
A wave of terrorist activities started in Egypt following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
The attacks killed hundreds of policemen, soldiers and civilians over the past few years, while security forces killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the anti-terror war declared in Egypt following Morsi's ouster.