A judge at a mass trial in Egypt has recommended the death penalty for 683 people - including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie.

The defendants faced charges over an attack on a police station in Minya in 2013 in which a policeman was killed.

However, the judge reversed 492 death sentences out of 529 passed in March, commuting most to life in prison.

The cases and speed of the hearings have drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups and the UN.

The trials took just hours each and the court prevented defence lawyers from presenting their case, according to Human Right Watch.

The sentences have been referred to the Grand Mufti - Egypt's top Islamic authority - for approval or rejection, a step which correspondents say is usually considered a formality. A final decision will be issued in June.

The BBC's Orla Guerin who is outside the court says relatives collapsed in grief and had to be carried away after hearing the verdict. A large crowd chanted: "Where is the justice?"

Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since President Mohammed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, was removed by the military in July.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.

The verdict was the first against Mr Badie in the several trials he faces on various charges along with Mr Morsi himself and other Brotherhood leaders.

'Farcical'

Of the 683 sentenced on Monday, only about 50 are in detention but the others have a right to a retrial if they hand themselves in.

The group were accused of involvement in the murder and attempted murder of policemen in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds Muslim Brotherhood supporters in clashes in Cairo.

Defence lawyers boycotted the last session, branding it "farcical" after the mass death sentencing which the United Nations denounced as a breach of international human rights law.

The final judgement on the sentencing of 529 other Muslim Brotherhood supporters means 37 will now face the death penalty, with the remaining defendants being sentenced to life in prison.

Our correspondent says confusion added to the torment as families outside the court were not told which names are among the 37 whose death sentences were confirmed.

Defence lawyer Khaled Elkomy said 60% of the 529 defendants, including teachers and doctors, have evidence that "proves they were not present" when the police station was attacked, a statement released by human rights group Avaaz said.

Last month, the UN human rights commissioner condemned the two trials and said they had breached international human rights law.

A spokesman for Navi Pillay said the "cursory mass trial" was "rife with procedural irregularities."

The government had defended the court's handling of the first mass case, insisting that the sentences were passed only "after careful study" and were subject to appeal.

Prosecutor Abdel Rahim Abdel Malek defended the charges against the 529, saying authorities had "strong evidence" against them.

"We have videos, witness accounts, documents that prove that the Muslim Brotherhood had called on its supporters to attack police stations," he said.

At least 1,000 opponents of the military-installed regime have been sentenced since December. As well as the death sentences, the jail terms passed range from six months to life.

The authorities have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist group, blaming it for a series of bombings and attacks. The group has strongly denied the accusations.