UN still awaiting Egyptian response over mass death penalties

Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said on Friday that the international organisation is waiting to see how Egypt would deal with the issue of death penalties against 529 anti-coup Egyptians.

In the daily press briefing at the UN Headquarters, Haq said: “We have made our views known [about this matter]. We have discussed our concerns about it. We will continue to monitor developments at this stage of course; we are waiting to see what the Egyptian Government will do.”

However, Haq did not clarify whether the UN was expecting a response regarding the overturning of the verdict, or guarantees that Egyptian Judiciary would respect fundamental standards of justice.

“We have been in touch with the Egyptian authorities,” he added, “We are waiting to see how this works, both in the legal system in Egypt and with the Government of Egypt.”