CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has upheld life sentences against the top leader of the country's now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and 36 others, including former ministers, in murder and violence charges, and upheld death sentences against 10 others tried in absentia.

The Appeals Court issued its verdict Wednesday, rejecting an appeal by Mohammed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The verdict came two years after a criminal court sentenced him and 36 others to life imprisonment.

The 47 defendants, including former youth and supplies ministers, had been charged with murder, attempted murder, resisting authorities, assaulting policemen, sabotage, and blocking a main road in the Nile Delta city of Qalyubia.

The case dates back to July 2013, in the aftermath of the military-led ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.