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529 Egyptians Sentenced to Death in Killing of a Police Officer Hundreds of Egyptians Sentenced to Death in Killing of a Police Officer
(about 2 hours later)
CAIRO — A criminal court in the city of Minya sentenced 529 people to death on Monday after a single session of their mass trial, convicting them of murder for the killing of a police officer in Minya during riots after the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media reported. CAIRO — A criminal court in the Egyptian city of Minya sentenced 529 detainees to death on Monday after a single session of their mass trial, convicting them of murder for the killing of a police officer in the rioting last summer after the military ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The swift conviction of so many in one stroke was a sudden acceleration of the sweeping crackdown against Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters and against other dissenters that has unfolded since his removal last summer. After the overthrowing of Mr. Morsi, the military-led government killed more than a thousand people in shootings during protests against the takeover, and since then it has arrested many thousands of others as demonstrations have continued at universities and in the streets. Most of those arrested have been detained without charges or trials. Legal experts called the case the largest mass trial or conviction in the history of modern Egypt. It also was a surprising acceleration of the nine-month-old crackdown on Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters and liberal dissenters that has followed his removal last July.
The verdict on Monday underscored the continuing determination of at least a part of the Egyptian judicial system to treat support for the ousted president as treason. In December, the government formally outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that backed Mr. Morsi and dominated Egypt’s first free elections, declaring it a terrorist group and subjecting any of its members or supporters to heavy penalties. The government has also issued another law criminalizing participation in unauthorized street demonstrations, with jail sentences for organizers. “We have never heard of anything of this magnitude before, inside or outside of Egypt, that was within a judicial system — not just a mass execution,” said Karim Medhat Ennarah, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights who specializes in criminal justice.
The state newspaper Al Ahram reported that the verdict came at the start of the second session of the trial. The paper said that the 529 defendants, described by state media as Muslim Brotherhood members, were convicted of killing one police officer, of the attempted killing of a second, and of participating in rioting that destroyed a police station. Sixteen defendants were acquitted, the newspaper said. “It is quite ridiculous,” he said, arguing that it would be impossible to prove five hundred people each played a meaningful role in the killing of a single police officer, especially after just one session of the trial. “Clearly this is an attempt to intimidate and terrorize the opposition, and specifically the Islamist opposition, but would the judge get so deeply involved in politics up to this point?”
Lawyers said the verdict was almost certain to be overturned on appeal. About four hundred of those convicted are fugitives who were sentenced in absentia; under Egyptian law they will be entitled to a retrial if they are apprehended.
The verdict was the latest in a string of harsh and speedy sentences against supposed Islamist supporters of the deposed president, including a ten-day trial that recently ended in sentences of 17 years each for a group of student protesters. News reports said another similar mass trial in Minya, including six hundred defendants accused of violence against the new military backed government, was set to begin Tuesday.
Legal analysts suggested that the judges issuing the verdicts might be caught up in the fervor of animosity toward Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters that has swept other segments of society since his ouster, and that they might also be acting on instructions from security officials, moving voluntarily to curry favor with the new authorities.
Minya is an Islamist stronghold in the rural areas upstream of Cairo along the Nile. Monday’s decision may indicate a determination by prosecutors and judges to deal more harshly with Islamists in the places where they constitute the most serious threat to the new order.
Even though the sentences were almost certain to be reduced, “the staggering harshness and speed of the verdict still show how profoundly the basic institutions of the Egyptian state are malfunctioning,” Nathan Brown, an expert on the Egyptian judiciary at George Washington University, wrote in an email. “The fact that cooler heads are likely to weigh in is only limited consolation for the degree to which mindless repression still seems to be the order of the day.”
Egyptian state news media described the defendants as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that backed Mr. Morsi and dominated parliamentary elections two years ago. After the removing Mr. Morsi last summer, the military-led government killed more than a thousand of his supporters in mass shootings at demonstrations against the takeover, and since then it has arrested many thousands of others.
In December, the government formally outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that backed Mr. Morsi and dominated Egypt’s first free elections, declaring it a terrorist group and subjecting any of its members or supporters to heavy penalties. The government has also issued another law criminalizing participation in unauthorized street demonstrations, with jail sentences for organizers.
The state newspaper Al Ahram reported that the verdict came at the start of the second session of the trial. The paper said that the 529 defendants were convicted of killing one police officer, of the attempted killing of two others, and of participating in rioting that destroyed a police station. Sixteen defendants were acquitted, the newspaper said.
The conviction on Monday followed the release on bail the previous day of a celebrated activist and blogger, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who had been jailed for three months on charges of organizing an unauthorized protest in Cairo. He continues to await trial and a possible jail sentence.The conviction on Monday followed the release on bail the previous day of a celebrated activist and blogger, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who had been jailed for three months on charges of organizing an unauthorized protest in Cairo. He continues to await trial and a possible jail sentence.
Also on Monday, another court in Cairo was scheduled to continue the trial of several journalists for the Pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera who have been charged with broadcasting false reports of unrest in Egypt as part of an Islamist conspiracy to bring down the new government. At least one of the Egyptian journalists has been imprisoned since August. Three others who worked for Al Jazeera’s English-language affiliate, including journalists from Canada and Australia known for their work at CNN and the BBC, were detained in December. At least two were arrested in a Cairo hotel suite that they used as a makeshift studio. Also on Monday, another court in Cairo was scheduled to continue the trial of several journalists for the Pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera who have been charged with broadcasting false reports of unrest in Egypt as part of an Islamist conspiracy to bring down the new government. At least one of the Egyptian journalists has been imprisoned since August. Three others who worked for Al Jazeera’s English-language affiliate, including journalists known for their work at CNN and the BBC, were detained in December. At least two were arrested in a Cairo hotel suite that they used as a makeshift studio.
But Monday’s decision took place in Minya, an Islamist stronghold in the rural areas upstream of Cairo along the Nile. It may indicate a determination by prosecutors or judges to deal more harshly with Islamists in the places where they constitute the most serious threat to the new order. The decision in Minya came as Egypt awaited a formal announcement of a presidential run by Field Marshall Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the defense minister who led Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Field Marshall Sisi has given every indication that an announcement is imminent, and he is the favorite in the election. Several would-be challengers have dropped out of the race, questioning its fairness or credibility. Parliamentary elections are expected to follow and the military-led government may seek to keep a tight lid on the Islamist opposition until those polls have been completed.
The decision also comes as Egypt is awaiting a formal announcement of a presidential run by Field Marshall Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the defense minister who led Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Field Marshall Sisi has given every indication that an announcement is imminent, and he is the favorite in the election. Several would-be challengers have dropped out of the race, questioning its fairness or credibility. Parliamentary elections are expected to follow and the military-led government may seek to keep a tight lid on the Islamist opposition until those polls have been completed.