A court in Upper Egypt has sentenced more than 500 people to death, in what is considered the largest recorded capital punishment case in the modern times of the country. The mass death penalty verdict was made on Monday, as part of the conviction related to the violent riots in Minya, a city in southern Egypt, last August. Nonetheless, only 147 of them were reportedly present in the court that day.
According to MENA, the nation’s official news agency, 529 alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters were convicted of killing a police officer, attempted murder of two other officials, as well as participating in the attack of a local police station. The same court judge acquitted sixteen other people, while another 700 defendants will soon be facing a trial court. The brotherhood has around 1,200 members, including senior citizens.
Allegedly, the convicted people are supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in July 2013 through a military coup. Morsi became Egypt’s fifth president and is the country’s first democratically elected leader. He is now being charged with several cases, including inciting deadly violence and espionage. Thousands of people have already been arrested as part of the crackdown, while hundreds of others have been killed.
Meanwhile, defense lawyer Khaled El-Komi told CNN that his clients were not given a chance to hear any evidence against them. He said only two court sessions were made in the conviction, and none of the defendants or their lawyers were allowed to present their case when the verdict was announced.
The trial started on Saturday. The defense attorneys demanded that the judges should be replaced to make sure that fair judgment will be served, but their request was not granted. However, the judgment may still be reversed. The defendants can still appeal their case but not until April 28, the day of the final trial session.
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