Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been urged to immediately commute the death sentences for 12 Muslim Brotherhood Members.
Human Rights Watch stressed the need to halt the execution of prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders “who had been convicted in a grossly unfair mass trial for participation in the 2013 Rab’a sit-in that ended with security forces killing at least 817 protestors.”
On June 14, 2021, Egypt’s highest civilian court upheld death sentences for 12 Muslim Brotherhood members.
The trial was linked to a 2013 mass killing by military forces at the
Rabaa al-Adawiya Square sit-in.
“The Rab’a trial was a mockery of justice, so it is outrageous that the highest court has upheld these 12 death sentences,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“President Sisi should seize this moment to void their execution and put an end to Egypt’s profligate use of the death penalty,” he added.
Amnesty International has earlier documented a sharp rise in the number of executions in Egypt, with at least 51 carried out so far this year.
