Egypt's top religious authority approved the death...

Egypt's top religious authority approved the death sentence for Shaaban Abdel-Ghani, 30. He was sentenced to death on April 13 by the Higher State Security Court for leading a unit that killed three policemen, three Coptic Christians and four other people in the past few years and as belonging to an outlawed terrorist group, believed to be al-Gama'a al-Islmiya (Islamic Group), Egypt's most militant group whose members killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in the southern resort of Luxor in November 1997. As is customary with death sentences, the verdict on Abdel-Ghani was transferred to the top religious official, the state mufti, for approval. The verdict cannot be appealed.