Cairo ( CNN ) An Egyptian court has sentenced 71 people to life in prison for their role in the August 2013 burning of a Christian church in the Giza province village of Kafr Hakim , state news reports . The Virgin Mary Church was torched and looted by a mob , some of whom chanted against Coptic Christians and called for Egypt to become an `` Islamic state , '' one of at least 42 churches and many more businesses and homes targeted that August , the advocacy group Human Rights Watch reports . Others attacked included St. George Church in Sohag , a city south of Cairo on the Nile River , and Prince Tadros Church in Fayoum , which is southwest of Cairo , according to reports . In addition to those getting life sentences , two minors were sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds ( about $ 1,300 ) , Egypt 's official Egynews reported . Most of those sentenced -- 52 of the 73 defendants -- were tried in absentia , with 21 already in prison , according to Egynews . Some blamed the church and other attacks on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood , the Islamist movement that backed Mohamed Morsy . Morsy became Egypt 's first democratically elected president following the ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak . Morsy was pushed out by Egypt 's military . Morsy was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this month after being convicted on charges related to violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012 . But he was acquitted of murder in the deaths of protesters . Christian churches across Egypt stormed , torched . Journalist Sarah Sirgany reported from Cairo and CNN 's Greg Botelho reported and wrote this story from Atlanta .
dozens minors were sentenced to 10 years in prison , in addition to adults getting life . 5dozens of the 73 defendants were sentenced in absentia . The Virgin Mary Church was burned along with 2 of others in August dozens013 .