United Nations denounces execution of 15 oppositionists in Egypt

The United Nations (UN) has revealed that some of the 15 oppositionists executed by the Egyptian authorities on charges of terrorism, violence and incitement to murder were tortured and did not receive fair trials.

This came in a statement on Wednesday by Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssell to Anadolu Agency.

Two days ago, the regime of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi executed 15 young men following protests that swept the country since 19 September.

In response to local and international criticism, Cairo usually denies holding political activists in detention, confirming the state’s full adherence to the law and constitution, while affirming the Egyptian judiciary’s impartiality.

Throssell explained that the UN Commission has been receiving information about the executions of 15 young men in Egypt since the end of last week.

The UN official added: “It has been reported to us that some of the people who were executed had been tortured and may not have been given a fair trial in accordance with Egypt’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

“According to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, implementing the death penalty after a trial that does not comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights constitutes a violation of the right to life.”

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Throssell noted that the death penalty can only be applied to perpetrators of: “The most serious crimes, such as premeditated murder.”

She called on the Egyptian government to guarantee a fair trial and legal support for all prisoners, including pardons and commutation of sentences.

On Sunday evening, anti-regime satellite channels and opposition figures abroad reported that 15 oppositionists were executed within 24 hours. While the Egyptian authorities did not issue any statement on the accusations, Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported that only six prisoners were executed.

All the political prisoners who were allegedly executed earlier denied committing any of the charges against them. The charges against them included murder, incitement to violence and vandalising public property in the events that followed the overthrow of the late President Mohamed Morsi, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood confirmed that the protests against the overthrow of Morsi, which took place in the summer of 2013, were peaceful, and refuse to recognise the current regime in Egypt.