The US has urged Egypt not to execute 529 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi who were given the death penalty in a mass sentencing which has triggered an international outcry.
And jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste will spend at least another week in a Cairo prison after being denied bail during his third hearing overnight.
In Washington, deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Tuesday called the sentence "shocking".
"The imposition of the death penalty for 529 defendants after a two-day summary proceeding cannot be reconciled with Egypt's obligations under international human rights law, and its implementation of these sentences, as I said, would be unconscionable," she stressed.
"If Egypt's leaders want to ensure a political transition to democracy that ultimately improves the stability and economic prospects of their country and their people, and that's respected by the Egyptian people, they must unequivocally ensure an environment that is free of intimidation or retribution," Harf said. "This includes ensuring due process and fair trials for all Egyptians accused of crimes."
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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leader went on trial on Tuesday in Cairo, along with hundreds of other Islamists before the same judge who passed the death sentences on the 529 convicted rioters.
The trial of Mohamed Badie and about 700 supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi was adjourned after just a few hours until April 28, when judgment and sentencing is expected, a lawyer said.
The roughly 1200 defendants in the case, including the 529 sentenced on Monday, are accused of murder and attempted murder in connection with the deaths of two policemen during riots in Minya on August 14.
In the latest hearing of the case against Greste and his two Al Jazeera colleagues, police witnesses were questioned about the journalists' arrests in a Cairo hotel in late December and the evidence they have against the trio.
Most refused to provide details of evidence, but said they stood by their original statements.
During a court recess, Greste told reporters that the prosecution case was without foundation.
"We haven't seen any evidence in the court that possibly justify the charges of our imprisonment," he said.
"We spent three months in prison on baseless charges."
Greste's trial resumes on May 31.
