An Egyptian court has sentenced 10 people to death after they were convicted of forming a terrorist cell, local media reported on Saturday.

The court sentenced five others to life in prison in the same case.

The convicts were charged with creating a group that aimed at attacking state institutions and the Christian minority, disrupting public order, endangering society and assaulting servicemen.

Three of Saturday’s rulings were made in absentia. Egypt has cracked down on suspected Islamists since the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.

Since then, hundreds of Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood members, have been sentenced to death, while the authorities have carried out dozens of executions.

Egypt is gearing up for presidential elections on March 26 to 28, in which President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi is virtually certain to win a second term.