An Egyptian court sentenced 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death for murder and other offences yesterday, in a sharp escalation of a crackdown on the movement that is likely to fuel instability.
Family members stood outside the courthouse screaming after the verdict – the biggest mass death sentence handed out in Egypt’s modern history, defence lawyers said.
Biggest mass death sentence handed out in Egypt’s modern history
Turmoil has deepened since the army overthrew Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in July. Security forces have killed hundreds of Brotherhood members in the streets and arrested thousands.
Human rights groups said yesterday’s verdict suggested the authorities intended to tighten their squeeze on the Opposition.
State television reported the sentences without comment. A government spokesman did not immediately respond to calls. Several government officials said they could not comment on judicial matters.
Most of the defendants at yesterday’s hearing were detained and charged with carrying out attacks during clashes which erupted in the southern province of Minya after the forced dispersal of two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo on August 14.
Islamist militants have also stepped up assaults on the police and army since Morsi’s ouster, killing hundreds and carry-ing out high profile operations against senior interior minis-try officials.
“The court has decided to sentence to death 529 defendants, and 16 were acquitted,” defence lawyer Ahmed al-Sharif said. The condemned men can appeal against the ruling.
The Muslim Brotherhood, largely driven underground, responded by calling for the “downfall of military rule” on its official website.
Mohamed Mahsoub, who served as minister of legal affairs under Morsi, described the court’s decision “a ruling calling for the execution of justice” on his Facebook page. Supporters set fire to a nearby school in protest, state television reported, though security officials said they had received no reports of unrest.
The charges against the group, on trial in Minya, include violence, inciting murder, storming a police station, attacking persons and damaging public and private property.
“This is the quickest case and the number sentenced to death is the largest in the history of the judiciary,” said lawyer Nabil Abdel Salam. Today, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, and 682 others will face trial on charges of incitement to kill.