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Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and 682 other supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi are standing trial in central Egypt.
They are accused of the murder and attempted murder of policemen during a crackdown on demonstrations in August.
Most of the defendants are being tried in absentia and officials said Mr Badie was not in court for security reasons.
The mass trial in Minya province comes a day after the same court sentenced 529 other Morsi supporters to death.
There has been widespread condemnation of the sentences, which were delivered on only the second session of the trial.
The Egyptian authorities have cracked down on the Brotherhood since the military overthrow Mr Morsi in July. More than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of others arrested.
Mr Badie, the Brotherhood’s general guide, is being detained along with dozens of other senior leaders of the Islamist movement.
The military stepped in after months of street protests against Mr Morsi – Egypt’s first democratically-elected president.
Following Mr Morsi’s removal from office the Brotherhood set up protest camps in Cairo, at which Mr Badie was a prominent figure.
