An Egyptian court has sentenced 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death on charges including murder, a defence lawyer said, in a sharp escalation of a crackdown on the movement.

"The court has decided to sentence to death 529 defendants and 16 were acquitted," lawyer Ahmed al-Sharif said.

Islamist backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi are facing a deadly crackdown launched by the military-installed authorities since his ouster in July, with hundreds of people killed and thousands arrested.

Of those sentenced on Monday, 153 are in detention, while the rest are on the run, judicial sources said, adding that the verdict can be appealed.

A second group of about 700 defendants will be in the dock on Tuesday.

They are accused of attacking both people and public property in southern Egypt in August, after security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by Morsi supporters on August 14.

They are also charged with committing acts of violence that led to the deaths of two policemen in Minya, judicial sources said.

The accused include several leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, including its supreme guide Mohamed Badie.

Morsi is himself currently on trial in three different cases, including one for inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace while he was in office.

Morsi was removed after just 12 months as president following mass street protests against his rule amid allegations of power grabbing and worsening an already weak economy.

Reuters/AFP