Court infamous for sentencing 529 Islamists to death justifies its decision by saying they were 'demons' who follow the Talmud.

An Egyptian court that sentenced to death 37 Islamists and handed life terms to 492 others defended its verdict on Sunday, saying the men were "demons" who followed Jewish scripture.

The court in the central city of Minya had triggered international outrage earlier this year for sentencing to death hundreds of alleged supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in two separate mass trials which only lasted minutes.

In one trial in March, 529 were sentenced to death for the killing of a police officer but the court later upheld the sentencing against only 37 of

them, while the rest were jailed for life.

In a statement Sunday to justify its decision, the court said: "The accused came out of the depths of hell... to plunder Egypt's wealth, terrorize its people and they killed the deputy commissioner."

It described the men as "enemies of the nation" who used mosques to promote the teachings of "their holy book, the Talmud," the central scripture of Judaism.

The military toppled Morsi in July last year, following mass protests against his year in power, and security forces launched a crackdown on his

supporters, killing hundreds and arresting thousands more

In April, the same court in Minya handed the death penalty to 683 people it said were supporters of Morsi, accusing them of murder and the attempted murder of policemen.

Judges are due to confirm the 683 death sentences on June 21.