Cairo, March 17 (IANS): An Egyptian court delivered on Monday death sentence to the chief leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group, Mohamed Badie, and 13 other members over violence charges.

The verdict was referred by Cairo Criminal Court to the Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official whose opinion is usually considered a formality. The final verdict, which still can be appealed, will be issued on April 11, Xinhua reported.

The MB spiritual leader and the other defendants were charged with running operations room to mobilise group members to target security forces and to spread disorder after the dispersal of the two major sit-ins in Cairo in August 2013.

Since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013, the army-backed government has launched a massive security crackdown on his supporters and affiliates, leaving more than 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested.

Morsi is now standing trial over charges including jailbreak, ordering the killing of protesters, spying and insulting the judiciary.