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Days before World Day Against the Death Penalty, the execution of 15 political dissidents in Egypt sparked condemnation from human rights groups.
The Geneva Council for Rights and Freedoms criticized the Egyptian government for executing the death sentence through security authorities against 15 detainees within 24 hours of “trials that lacked justice,” adding that the trials they were dominated by suspicion of “political revenge”. The group said in a statement that such executions before October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty, sent a negative message and reflected the determination of the Egyptian authorities to violate international human rights.
The council called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities regarding the escalation of flagrant human rights violations in Egypt and to take deterrent measures.
Several other human rights groups also condemned the executions and demanded the abolition of the death penalty in Egypt, especially in cases with a political dimension.
Spokesmen for the Muslim Brotherhood organization expressed their condolences to the families of those executed in statements on their Twitter accounts and highlighted the importance of a just retaliation against the sentences.
Two detainees, Yasser Abasiri and Yasser Shakr, were members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group from the coastal city of Alexandria. They had been detained during protests against the 2013 military coup that deposed the country’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi. The two were held in Tora Prison in southern Cairo, which is known as the most fortified prison in the country, after their trial in what is publicly known as the “Library of Alexandria” case.
With the latest executions, the number of political prisoners executed under Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government since 2014 reached 79, of whom 25 were hanged in 2020, the Middle East Monitor reported.
Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented crackdown on dissidents under el-Sissi since the overthrow of Morsi. The military crushed the Muslim Brotherhood movement in a massive crackdown, arresting Morsi and many of the group’s other leaders, who have been in prison undergoing multiple trials since the coup. The Egyptian authorities have killed hundreds of followers of the Muslim Brotherhood and sent thousands to prison for inciting violence. Activists consider the crackdown to be the worst in Egypt’s modern history.
The executions took place as the demonstrations swept through the rural areas and slums of the city. The el-Sissi administration was concerned about the “September Uprising” that began on September 19 as a result of calls from Mohammed Ali, an opposition figure living in exile in Spain. The regime, which initially did not take the demonstrations seriously, began using force after increasing participation in the “Rabies Friday” and “Triumph Friday” protests. This led to the killing of three activists by the police on September 25, but the anger on the streets did not fade.
Fearing that the protests that started for economic reasons could spread even further, the administration launched Plan B to execute 50 prisoners who had previously been sentenced to death by the courts. As of Saturday, most members of the Muslim Brotherhood awaited the execution of the 50 defendants after all legal remedies were exhausted.
