Forteen human rights organization expressed serious concern about the verdict of the Minia Criminal Court on Monday that sentenced 528 Brotherhood supporters to death for involvement in violent acts in the city of Matay, Minya after dispersing the Rabaa al-Adaweya and al-Nahda squares sit-ins.
The court sent the sentence to the Grand Mufti to endorse or overrule.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the organizations said a verdict on such a huge number of defendants is a serious and unprecedented shift in the dealing with such cases and a gross violation of the rights to a fair trial and to life.
The statement also said the verdict was issued in less than a week.
The defendants are charged with killing police officer Mostafa Ragab of the Minya police station, the attempted murder of other officers, stealing weapons from the police station, damaging public and private property and burning private cars.
The statement pointed out that the verdict was issued in the second session of the trial and in the absence of the defendants and their lawyers, while the first session lasted for no more than half an hour after the defense requested to replace the judge.
Also, as the court did not hear the testimonies of witnesses, reviewed the seizures nor enable the accused to defend themselves, the statement considered such a mass trial a serious breach of the norms of a fair trial.
The organizations warned of using death penalties as a repressive measure against political opponents of different affiliations and also warned against the repressive nature of the laws that combat terrorism, especially as the government approved in principle two laws relating to terrorism. The organizations pointed out that they lack proper legal control, allow the death penalty for an extended list of acts and grant broad powers to the police and public prosecutors during investigations.
They concluded by calling for guaranteed access to a fair trial for all defendants, enabling them to defend themself, provide them with evidence, give the defense enough time to respond and enable defendants to access a lawyer.
Among the organizations signing the statement are the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
