( 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 . During the summer of unrest , hundreds of people died when the police forcefully cleared camps set up by protesting Morsy supporters and when security forces opened fire on Morsy backers who attacked police stations , government buildings and churches . The government accused the protesters of inciting violence . After the coup , the new government outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood . Morsy was arrested , and he too faces trial . Soltan 's sister , Hanaa , is anxious about what the future holds for her family . She wrote a letter to her brother expressing her feelings . `` Dear Mohamed , '' the letter read . `` I 'm often asked why , and how , you 've kept up your hunger strike for 14 months now , despite our pleas for you to end it . I 've watched your body go from a plump basketball-playing frame to one that has withered down to its bones . `` Your face , with its beautiful smile often grinning , now looks permanently in pain . And , all I can do to explain is to tell people that it 's the only form of control you have to hold on to -- now more than ever , on the eve of your sentencing . '' CNN 's Don Melvin contributed to this report .
The death sentences will be appealed . Mohamed Egypt , a 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist on a hunger strike , is sentenced to life in prison . Letter from Egypt 's sister : `` Your face , with its beautiful smile ... now looks permanently in pain ''