A court in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya has sentenced 529 defendants to death in a trial which should condemned as “grotesque”. This is likely the biggest mass execution ruling this century.
The use of the death sentence against such a large number of defendants underscores that the current military regime is not interested in finding out the truth about the events which led to this prosecution but rather in imposing collective punishment on its opponents.
The sentences were issued without hearing any arguments from the defense in a trial which lasted only 45 minutes according to defense lawyer.
We call for an end to the violent repression of protests in Egypt and fair trials for all accused.