Death Sentences for Muslim Brotherhood Members Disregard for Law

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — Death sentences given to 183 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt are a sign of the country’s continuing disregard for both national and international law, Amnesty International said in a statement.

On Monday, the Egyptian criminal court upheld death sentences for 183 supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. The 183 men are charged with murdering 11 police officers in August 2013.

“[Today’s] verdicts and sentences must be quashed and all of those convicted should be given a trial that meets international standards of fairness and excludes the death penalty,” Amnesty’s Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, was quoted as saying, in the statement.

To date, the Egyptian court has sentenced 415 people to death in four trials for the killing of the police officers. But, the rights group pointed out, “the case against former President Hosni Mubarak, involving the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising, has been dropped.”

In August 2013, a group of radicals attacked a police station in the town of Kerdasa near Cairo following protests against the ousting of Morsi. 11 law enforcement officers were killed in the attack.

The Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi won the presidential election in 2012, but was ousted and arrested by the military a year later. Morsi’s supporters took to the streets, inciting mass disturbances across the country.

The group has been declared a terrorist organization in many countries.