CAIRO: Egypt’s top religious authority has rejected a death sentence proposed for the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 13 associates for murder and violence, but was asked by a court on Thursday to reconsider.

Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood’s general guide, and the other defendants were sentenced on June 19, but Egyptian law requires any capital sentence to be referred to Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam, Egypt’s highest Islamic legal official, for an opinion before any execution can take place.

The mufti’s reports are not normally made public, but one of the three judges in the case said the Mufti had stated that “the investigations and evidence were not enough to carry out the death sentence.”

In a move unprecedented in the history of Egyptian law, the court asked the mufti to reconsider and adjourned the hearing, in which it was due to either uphold or strike down the original sentence, until Aug. 30.

“The Mufti did not give a religious opinion but interfered in the court’s domain by evaluating the evidence of the case,” the judge said.

Among the defendants in the Cairo case are senior Brotherhood members Mohamed El-Beltagi and Essam El-Erian, as well as former members of the Mursi government. Six of the accused are on the run.

The defendants are accused of killing nine people and incitement to kill that led to 21 other deaths in clashes that took place near the Istiqama Mosque on the outskirts of Cairo in July 2013.

Meanwhile, a court sentenced two men to life and another to 20 years in prison on Thursday for sexual assaults on women during public rallies in the city’s iconic Tahrir Square, judicial officials said.

The prosecution had charged defendants with kidnapping, larceny, attempted rape, torture and attempted murder. The incident took place on June 3, during public celebrations of Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi’s victory.