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Egypt Muslim Brotherhood leader and 682 others on trial Mass Egypt death sentences 'breach international law'
(about 7 hours later)
The Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie, and 682 other supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi have gone on trial in Egypt. The UN human rights commissioner has condemned an Egyptian court's decision to sentence to death 528 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
They face charges relating to an attack on a police station in the central city of Minya last August. A spokesman for Navi Pillay said the "cursory mass trial" was "rife with procedural irregularities" and breached international human rights law.
Most of the defendants are being tried in absentia and officials said Mr Badie was not in court for security reasons. The defendants were found guilty on Monday of charges relating to an attack on a police station in Minya in August.
The mass trial in Minya comes a day after the same court sentenced 528 other Morsi supporters to death. Another 683 Morsi supporters went on trial at the same court on Tuesday.
There has been widespread condemnation of the sentences, which were delivered on only the second session of the trial. They include the Muslim Brotherhood's general guide, Mohammed Badie, and the chairman of its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Saad al-Katatni.
The UN said the trial had contravened international law. Later, security forces clashed with hundreds of Minya University students protesting against the trials.
There were also protests in Minya by students at the local university and by a crowd in the Abu Hilal district which called for the end of military rule. Tear gas was fired at the students after they blocked a main road, threw stones and set an armoured police vehicle on fire.
'Unprecedented''Unprecedented'
The BBC's Orla Guerin, who is outside the Minya Criminal Court, says only 62 people were present at the trial on Tuesday and that it was adjourned after a few hours. There has been widespread condemnation of Monday's decision by the Minya Criminal Court to sentence 528 people to death for their alleged participation in an attack on a police station in the central city in mid-August, in which a police officer was killed.
The defendants - including Mr Badie, the Brotherhood's general guide, and Saad al-Katani, chairman of its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) - are facing various charges in connection with an attack on a police station in Minya in mid-August, in which no-one was reported killed. The incident took place in the immediate aftermath of an operation by security forces to break up two sit-ins in the capital Cairo that left almost 1,000 people dead. The sit-ins were set up by supporters of Mr Morsi's after he was overthrown by the military the previous month.
The attack took place in the immediate aftermath of an operation by security forces to break up two sit-ins in the capital, Cairo, that left almost 1,000 people dead. The sit-ins were set up by supporters of Mr Morsi's after he was overthrown by the military the previous month. The trial, at which more than three-quarters of the defendants were not present, is reported to have lasted less than an hour on Saturday.
Defence lawyers boycotted Tuesday's proceedings, but the judge, Saed Youssef, nevertheless continued without them, our correspondent says.
He is believed to have heard evidence from witnesses, and even questioned some of the defendants despite their legal representatives not being present, she adds. One local lawyer with 20 years' experience described the actions of the judge as unprecedented.
The defence teams have demanded that the judge step down because he presided over the trial of the 528 people sentenced to death on Monday in connection with an attack on a different police station in Minya.
The preceding trial, in which the vast majority of defendants were also tried in absentia, is reported to have lasted under an hour on Saturday.
The prosecution did not put forward evidence implicating any individual defendant, even though it had compiled significant evidence, and the court prevented defence lawyers from presenting their case or calling witnesses, according to Human Right Watch.The prosecution did not put forward evidence implicating any individual defendant, even though it had compiled significant evidence, and the court prevented defence lawyers from presenting their case or calling witnesses, according to Human Right Watch.
A second session was held on Monday solely to announce the verdict.A second session was held on Monday solely to announce the verdict.
A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned what he called the "cursory mass trial". On Tuesday, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, told a news conference in Geneva: "The astounding number of people sentenced to death in this case is unprecedented in recent history."
"The astounding number of people sentenced to death in this case is unprecedented in recent history," Rupert Colville said on Tuesday. "The mass imposition of the death penalty after a trial that was rife with procedural irregularities is in breach of international human rights law." "The mass imposition of the death penalty after a trial that was rife with procedural irregularities is in breach of international human rights law."
US state department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was "deeply concerned" and "shocked" by a verdict that "sort of defies logic", while the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Egyptian authorities to grant defendants "the right to a fair and timely trial". Sixteen Egyptian rights groups voiced concern, saying the trial constituted a "dangerous, unprecedented shift in the Egyptian's judiciary's treatment of such cases" and represented "a grave violation of both the right to a fair trial and the right to life".
But Egypt's interim government defended the court, insisting that the sentences had been handed down only "after careful study".But Egypt's interim government defended the court, insisting that the sentences had been handed down only "after careful study".
The state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported that the Minya Criminal Court would issue its final verdict on 28 April after Egypt's grand mufti, who under the law must ratify each death sentence before it can be carried out, had passed judgement. The state-run al-Ahram newspaper said the court would issue its final verdict on 28 April after Egypt's grand mufti, who under the law must ratify each death sentence before it can be carried out, had passed judgement.
The defendants may then appeal. Legal experts said a higher court would most probably order a retrial or reduce their sentences.The defendants may then appeal. Legal experts said a higher court would most probably order a retrial or reduce their sentences.
Boycott
Mr Colville also expressed concern about the 683 people who went on trial at the Minya Criminal Court on Tuesday on similar charges relating to an attack on another police station in which no-one died.
The BBC's Orla Guerin, who is outside the courthouse, says that after an opening session lasting just a few hours the case was adjourned until 28 April, when the judge, Said Youssef, said a verdict would be given.
Critics will ask how the fate of so many people could be decided after the briefest of trials, our correspondent says. And, she adds, there were two key elements missing - most of the defendants and any of their lawyers.
Only 62 defendants reportedly appeared in court, with officials saying Mr Badie and Mr Katatni could not attend for security reasons, while the defence team staged a boycott in protest at the preceding trial.
"As lawyers, we haven't seen anything like what happened here yesterday in our entire professional lives and we will not see anything like it until our deaths," Khaled Fouda of the Minya lawyers' syndicate said.
Despite the boycott, the judge heard testimony from witnesses and questioning several of the defendants before adjourning the case.
The wife of one of the accused in Tuesday's case told the BBC she feared the verdict had been decided in advance. She said her husband was an innocent man who had been arrested while picking up their daughter from hospital.
The 1,200 defendants in the two cases in Minya are among more than 16,000 Egyptians arrested over the past eight months, according to figures recently provided by senior interior ministry officials. They include about 3,000 top or mid-level Brotherhood members.The 1,200 defendants in the two cases in Minya are among more than 16,000 Egyptians arrested over the past eight months, according to figures recently provided by senior interior ministry officials. They include about 3,000 top or mid-level Brotherhood members.