An Ismailia criminal court issued preliminary death sentences on Monday to 13 defendants convicted of escaping El-Mostakbal prison in the Suez Canal governorate in 2016.

The court has referred the case to the country's grand mufti for a non-binding opinion on the death sentences, per Egyptian law.

The defendants include members of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis terrorist organisation, now known as Daesh Sinai, and other defendants being tried in absentia.

A final sentence will be issued by the court on 12 July.