Egypt Sentences 23 to Prison for Killing 4 Shiite Men

Egyptian Judge Shaaban el-Shami, center, sentences ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to death over his part in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, in a converted lecture hall in the national police academy in an eastern Cairo suburb, Egypt, Saturday, May 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Ravy Shaker, El Shorouk newspaper)

CAIRO—An Egyptian criminal court has sentenced 23 people to 14 years in prison on charges of killing 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.

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When they refused, villagers attacked them, dragged them along the ground, and partially burned the house, the officials said.

Shiites are a minority in Egypt, which is largely Sunni. Christians make up about 10 percent of the population.

The attack came just days before Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power by the military.