Monday, March 24, 2014

529 Sentenced to Death in Egypt

Egyptian courts have sentenced 529 people to death today in connection to demonstrations that took place in August. The charges against the defendants included the death of a policeman, assault, and vandalism. The policeman was killed when police forces broke up pro-Morsi demonstrations in Cairo. Of the 529 convicted, only 147 defendants were actually in court for the trial- the rest of the 529 were convicted in absentia.




There has been much backlash on Twitter and in the streets in Egypt, from other supporters of Morsi, family members of the convicted, and others around the world. The verdict now goes to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s supreme religious authority, for approval or rejection.




The final hearing in the trial will not be held until April 28, so there will be time for appeals to be made. Although Egypt has sentenced stunning numbers of people to death recently, actual executions are much more rare, and many of the sentences may never be carried out.

“The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman in London, Abdullah el-Haddad, told the BBC the sentences showed that Egypt was now a dictatorship.” The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization shortly after the coup that ousted Morsi in 2013. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as any activists deemed to be hostile to the new government, face severe restrictions on how they express their opinions. It is becoming evermore clear that Egypt is no longer moving toward a democracy, as many claimed it was after Morsi was elected in 2012. Democratic elections have given way to military coups and de facto dictatorship.


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