TURKEY CONDEMNS EGYPT’S DEATH SENTENCES

Ankara, 24 Jumadil Akhir 1436/13 April 2015 (MINA) – Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has condemned what it said were “collective punishments” meted out in Egypt, a day after 14 people were sentenced to death and dozens to life imprisonment.

The criticism came on Sunday after an Egyptian court ordered Muslim Brotherhood Guide General Mohamed Badie and 13 other people to be put to death for violence-related charges and jailed for life 37 defendants including Egyptian-American activist Mohamed Soltan.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “As in previous examples, it is obvious that these decisions, which are far from meeting international standards, cannot contribute to the permanent peace and stability in Egypt.” Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The court ordered the life sentences on charges of forming what came to be known as the “Rabaa Operations Room” during a sit-in in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi last year.

The defendants were accused of “masterminding a plot to sow chaos and storm and set fire to police stations, state institutions, public and private property and churches”.

Prosecutors also accused the defendants of “coordinating with e-committees to disseminate doctored images of people killed and wounded protesters.”

Hundreds of people were killed when security forces violently dispersed two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and Giza’s Nahda Square.

The dispersal came only a few weeks after Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, was forcibly removed from office by the army following massive opposition demonstrations against his one-year presidency.

The Egyptian government then launched a sweeping crackdown on Morsi’s supporters, in which the Rabaa dispersal is widely seen as having been a turning point. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)