Here's a short story:

(CNN)An Egyptian court sentenced the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, on Saturday to death by hanging, along with 13 members of his group. 

The sentences will be appealed. 

The criminal court sentenced 36 other defendants to life in prison on charges of plotting terrorist attacks against state facilities. 

They faced charges that include "funding the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in" -- a mass protest in Cairo in August 2013 that was forcibly dispersed by security personnel -- and spreading "false information" to destabilize Egypt. They were arrested in a sweeping crackdown on supporters of former President Mohamed Morsy, the country's first democratically elected president, who was overthrown in 2013 in a military coup that bitterly split Egyptians. 

One of those sentenced to life in prison was Mohamad Soltan, a 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist. He has been languishing in Cairo's notorious Tora Prison, where he has been on a hunger strike for more than 14 months. 

The U.S. State Department released a statement condemning Soltan's sentence and calling for his release on humanitarian grounds. 

The presiding judge for Badie, Soltan and the other defendants was Mohamed Nagy Shehata, who is known for his harsh verdicts. Shehata has sentenced more than 180 people to death and was the original judge in a high-profile case case involving Al Jazeera journalists. 

Badie had been sentenced to death before on a conviction related to a deadly attack on a police station. He has also been sentenced to life in prison for inciting violence during 2013's unrest. 

The Egyptian news outlet Al Ahram reported that Badie had been sentenced to death twice before, but an appeals court overturned one verdict, and Egypt's Grand Mufti disapproved of the other.  (End of story)

Provide your best guess for the following question. Give ONLY the guess, no other words or explanation.

For example:

Guess: <most likely guess, as short as possible; not a complete sentence, just the guess!>

Here are a few examples of questions and answers:

Question: how many defendants got life in prison?
Guess: 36

Question: what did the US state department condemn?
Guess: Soltan's sentence

Now answer the following question in the same format.

Question: on what grounds?

humanitarian grounds.