The Foreign Ministry has condemned what it says were "collective punishments" meted out in Egypt, a day after 14 people were sentenced to death and dozens to life imprisonment.

The criticism came on Sunday after an Egyptian court ordered Muslim Brotherhood Guide General Mohamed Badie and 13 others to be put to death for violence-related charges and jailed 37 defendants for life including Egyptian-American activist Mohamed Sultan.

The Foreign Ministry said in the statement: "As in previous examples, it is obvious that these decisions, which are far from meeting international standards, cannot contribute to permanent peace and stability in Egypt."

The court ordered the life sentences on charges of forming what came to be known as the "Rabaa Operations Room" during a sit-in in support of the ousted Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, last year.

The defendants were accused of "masterminding a plot to sow chaos and storm and set fire to police stations, state institutions, public and private property and churches."

Prosecutors also accused the defendants of "coordinating with e-committees to disseminate doctored images of people killed and wounded protesters."

Hundreds of people were killed when security forces violently dispersed two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and Giza's Nahda Square.

The dispersal came only a few weeks after Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was forcibly removed from office by the army following massive opposition demonstrations against his one-year rule.

The Egyptian government then launched a sweeping crackdown on Morsi's supporters in which the events at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square are widely seen as having been a turning point.