Tunisia’s Ennahda condemns Egypt death sentences

Tunisia’s Ennahda political party has condemned the recent death sentences and life terms issued by the Egyptian authorities against hundreds of citizens.

On 5 September, an Egyptian court sentenced 75 prominent members and affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to death, as part of a mass trial which included jail terms for more than 600 others. They were accused of murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya Square in Cairo following the 2013 military coup.

“These sentences have provoked a wave of condemnation in various international political and legal circles, including United Nations,” Ennahda said in a statement, calling on the Egyptian authorities to “immediately overturn the sentences”.

Ennahda’s President Rached  Ghannouchi recently described the sentences against Egyptian politicians and rights activists as “unprecedented and were not based on the minimum terms for fair trials”.

On Tuesday, the European Union slammed the sentences, stressing that it was having “serious doubts” over whether the defendants had been given a fair trial. Cairo describing this “prejudiced criticism”.

Read: Calls for UK MPs to stand up for human rights in Egypt