CAIRO – Egypt on Sunday sentenced 14 people, including human rights activists, to prison terms of between five and 15 years on terrorism-related charges in a trial held by human rights groups. condemnation is not fair.
The convictions — the latest mass sentences in Egypt — were reported by the Egyptian Human Rights Initiative, one of the country’s most prominent human rights groups. The suspects were arrested in 2018 as part of the authorities’ wide-ranging crackdown on dissidents.
Two active attorneys – Ezzat Ghoneem of Egypt’s Coordination for Rights and Freedoms and Mohamed Abu Horaira — each sentenced to 15 years in prison. They were found guilty of joining and sponsoring a terrorist group, as the government calls the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian authorities designated the Islamist group a terrorist organization in 2013, the year the military removed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, hailed from the Brotherhood, from power after a year in power. divisive power.
Abu Horarira’s wife, Aisha el-Shater, also the daughter of Khairat el-Shater, long considered the most powerful leader of the Brotherhood, was sentenced to 10 years on charges including disseminating the Brotherhood. misinformation about allegations of abuse of power by security forces.
Huda Abdel-Moneim, another lawyer and activist, was sentenced to five years in prison.
The court added a five-year probation period to the end of each convict’s sentence, including a travel ban and an order to regularly report to the police station.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups have criticized the arrest of 14 people and said their trial reflects “a flagrant violation of their right to a fair trial.”
Sunday’s sentence was not appealed and only the president of that country has the authority to pardon or annul the sentence.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized the mass sentences, common in Egypt over the years in trials involving the Muslim Brotherhood or dissent, and called on the authorities to ensure fair trials.
The Egyptian government has in recent years jailed thousands of people, mostly Muslims, but also secular activists who participated in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled President Bashar al-Assad. The country’s longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
