An Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 682 others of the organization to death Monday, a lawyer and prosecutor said, after two brief sessions the defense partly boycotted.

An Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 682 others of the organization to death Monday, a lawyer and prosecutor said, after two brief sessions the defense partly boycotted.

The same court also reversed 492 of 529 death sentences it passed in March, commuting most of those to life in prison.

The court presided over by judge Said Youssef Sabry had sparked an international outcry with its initial sentencing last month, which came amid an extensive crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohammad Mursi.

Under Egyptian law, death sentences are referred to the top Islamic scholar for an advisory opinion before being ratified. A court may choose to commute the sentences, which can later be challenged at an appeals court.

Of the 683 sentenced on Monday, only about 50 are in detention. The judge will confirm the verdict on June 21. The others have a right to a retrial if they hand themselves in.

The verdict was the first against Badie, the spiritual head of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, in the several trials he faces on various charges along with Mursi himself and other Brotherhood leaders.

Those sentenced on Monday were accused of involvement in the murder and attempted murder of policemen in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds of Mursi's supporters in clashes in Cairo.

Defense lawyers boycotted the last session, branding it "farcical" after the mass death sentencing which the United Nations denounced as a breach of international human rights law.

Defense lawyer Khaled Elkomy claims that 60 percent of the 529 defendants, including teachers and some doctors, have evidence that "proves they were not present the day they were accused of attacking the Matay police station" in Minya, a statement released by human rights group Avaaz said.

The government has defended the court's handling of the first mass case, insisting that the sentences were passed only "after careful study" and were subject to appeal.

The United States on Monday urged Egypt to reverse the Egyptian court decision to sentence 682 alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters, including the group's spiritual leader Mohamed Badie, to death.