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CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 75 people to death for participating in demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood five years ago, at a trial of more than 700 defendants as defense groups Human rights have been judged unfair.
Most of the defendants were arrested during the assault of security forces during a sit-in on Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, killing hundreds. The demonstrations were in favor of President Mohammed Morsi after the army overthrow the leader of the Islamist movement.
The charges against those sentenced to death included the killing of citizens and police, terrorizing people and possessing weapons. Others, including an award-winning photojournalist, were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment, including life sentences, by the Cairo Criminal Court. The court sentenced Mr. Morsi's son, Osama, to ten years.
Judge Hassan Farid announced the verdict in an overcrowded hearing room at Tora Prison in Cairo, where the detainees were behind a metal cage. Defendants may challenge the verdict in a higher court and request a new trial.
Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, then Minister of Defense and current President of the country, led the overthrow of Mr. Morsi and helped plan the crash of the protest camps.
"The fact that no policeman was brought to account for the death of at least 900 people during the demonstrations shows that this trial was a travesty of justice," said Najia Bounaim, director. Campaigns in North Africa by Amnesty International. said in a statement. "The death penalty should never be an option under any circumstances."
It noted that in the Rabaa al-Adawiya trial, the group of 739 demonstrators was prosecuted collectively for the murder of 17 men, including seven members of the police force, as well as other charges of unlawful assembly, incitement to the law and involvement in violence.
Sisi's government said the demonstrators in the squares were armed and fired on security forces trying to disperse them.
Saturday's verdict was postponed twice this summer due to security concerns. The mass trial, one of many targeting the Muslim Brotherhood after the 2013 coup, has attracted worldwide attention as Egyptian authorities continue to crack down on civil society, including politicians and journalists. Mr. Morsi is imprisoned on separate charges. The Muslim Brotherhood is now banned.
Other mass trials for members and supporters of the group took place. Among the most important of these trials, a Minya court handed down death penalty verdicts for 683 accused in 2014 on charges of murder and violence.
The Egyptian courts are independent but have sometimes been criticized by the ruling party's militants since the 2013 coup.
Among the convicts was award-winning photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, better known as Shawkan. Mr. Abu Zeid was arrested while documenting the violence in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. The court sentenced him to five years in prison.
Abu Zeid's lawyer, Karim Abdel Rady, hopes he will be released within two days because he has already spent the last five years in pre-trial detention, during which he received a press award from the press. Unesco in April 2018.
Mr. Abu Zeid smiled and motioned to the reporters after the judge had pronounced the verdict and the courtroom applauded.
"We still think the verdict is unfair because Mahmoud did not commit any crime. He was only doing his job as a journalist, "Abdel Rady said after the verdict, adding that he would appeal the court's decision.
Abu Zeid's brother, Mohamed, waited outside the Tora complex after security forces prevented him and other families of the accused from entering the courtroom. Mohamed said the family was hoping for a verdict of acquittal, while being happy not to have to spend more time in jail. "The house was very depressing without him," he said.
