Egyptian jihadist groups on Thursday announced an October 6 protest at the presidential palace against what they say is government persecution against them, especially in the Sinai region. The government must stop \'\'investigating and prosecuting jihadists and stop committing violations during Sinai operations, which are carried out without distinction between perpetrators and victims, solely to appease foreign powers or national movements,\'\' Masri al Youm online daily reported Mohamed al-Zawahiri, brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, as saying. An Ismailia court two days ago confirmed death by hanging sentences against 14 jihadists convicted of participating in an attack on a police station and a bank in el-Arish last year, killing six police officers.