TURKEY SLAMS EGYPT DEATH SENTENCES

Ankara, 14 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/4 February 2015 (MINA) – Turkey has harshly condemned Monday’s decision by an Egyptian court to uphold 183 death sentences.

The defendants, many of whom are supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood group, were sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in an attack on a police station in the town of Kerdasa in August 2013.

Eleven police officers were killed in the incident, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting. Wesnesday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement Tuesday saying the ruling was “far from a fair trial” and would not provide the country with permanent peace or stability.

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“We will continue our solidarity with the brotherly Egyptian people,” the statement read.

Last December, a court referred the defendants to Egypt’s grand mufti, the country’s top religious authority, to consider possible death sentences.

The mufti’s opinions are not binding on the court, but Egyptian law requires judges to seek a religious point of view before any death sentences are handed down.

The court later commuted the death sentence against one convicted minor to 10 years while acquitting two others. Another two reportedly died in custody.

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In late 2013, the Egyptian government designated the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist organisation.” (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

 

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