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| Egyptian policeman's wife casts doubt on death sentences handed out to 529 | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The wife of the policeman whose murder led to death sentences for 529 Egyptians on Monday has suggested that only two of them may be responsible for his killing. | |
| The sentences caused global outcry on Monday after it emerged that the 529 had been convicted of the murder of officer Mostafa al-Attar last August in a case that lasted just two court sessions. | |
| Speaking to an Egyptian news presenter after the case ended, Al-Attar's wife, Magda Abbas, inadvertently cast further doubt on the strength of the prosecution by saying that her joy at the sentences was tempered by the fact that the two men who killed him were still in hiding. | |
| Al-Attar was wounded by a mob at a police station and later brought to hospital, where Abbas said two doctors killed him. "Those who killed Mostafa are not there [in prison]," said Abbas. "They are fugitives." | |
| Local lawyers protested against the death sentences by boycotting a second mass trial of 683 people on Tuesday, which was presided over by the same judge who ruled in the first case. | |
| Judge Saeed Youssef Elgazar went ahead regardless – a decision defence lawyers said was illegal. | |
| "I have never seen anything like this in all my life as a lawyer," said Adel Aly, one of the defence counsel who chose not to attend Tuesday's trial of defendants including the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie. | "I have never seen anything like this in all my life as a lawyer," said Adel Aly, one of the defence counsel who chose not to attend Tuesday's trial of defendants including the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie. |
| Ahmed Shabeeb, another lawyer involved in the boycott, said: "His [Elgazar's] decision infringed all the procedures guaranteed by law and the constitution – as if he wanted to say that he's the uppermost god." | |
| According to local media, Elgazar has a history of controversial judgments, most prominently in January last year when he acquitted policemen accused of murdering protesters during the 2011 revolution. | According to local media, Elgazar has a history of controversial judgments, most prominently in January last year when he acquitted policemen accused of murdering protesters during the 2011 revolution. |
| Further draconian sentences were avoided as Tuesday's trial was adjourned until 28 April. But violence broke out in Minya, the southern city where both trials took place, as students clashed with police. The head of the local student union said some protesters had been hit by police shotgun pellets. Clashes were also reported in the northern city of Alexandria. | Further draconian sentences were avoided as Tuesday's trial was adjourned until 28 April. But violence broke out in Minya, the southern city where both trials took place, as students clashed with police. The head of the local student union said some protesters had been hit by police shotgun pellets. Clashes were also reported in the northern city of Alexandria. |
| The death sentences sparked a global outcry, culminating in the UN's human rights office judging that the case had breached international law. | |
| "A mass trial of 529 people conducted over just two days cannot possibly have met even the most basic requirements for a fair trial," said the UN's human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville. | |
| But reaction in Egypt was more mixed. The identities of the 529 are not all known, but many Egyptians assume they are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group behind the ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Many in Egypt instinctively blame the Brotherhood for all new outbursts of violence, and believe the 529 deserved their punishment. | |
| One lawyer from the area, Ali Delgawy, said: "They're liars, so they deserve whatever happens to them." | One lawyer from the area, Ali Delgawy, said: "They're liars, so they deserve whatever happens to them." |
| Both state and private media have consistently backed the actions of the post-Morsi regime, and Monday's trial was no exception. "Today, we got justice, the justice that we want. We are tired of your violence. We will build the country despite your war," said Rania Badawy, a presenter on the private Tahrir channel. | Both state and private media have consistently backed the actions of the post-Morsi regime, and Monday's trial was no exception. "Today, we got justice, the justice that we want. We are tired of your violence. We will build the country despite your war," said Rania Badawy, a presenter on the private Tahrir channel. |
| A presenter for the Sada al-Balad channel, Ahmed Moussa, said: "I salute the fairness and justice of our judiciary in defiance of those killers and all those who attack it. Egypt's judiciary is clean and fair." | |
| Analysts argued that while the judgment may have been made independently, Egypt's judiciary was not a neutral institution. "Parts of the judicial apparatus are fully on board with the new repressive order, at least for now," said Nathan Brown, a professor at George Washington University. But he added: "I think it is more a matter of a common mentality than direct co-ordination." | |
| Additional reporting by Manu Abdo | Additional reporting by Manu Abdo |