Egypt sentences man to death, 11 others to life on terror charges

The First Terrorism Circuit at Egypt’s State Security Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a man to death by hanging, and 11 others to life imprisonment, three defendants to 15 years imprisonment and three defendants to ten years over various terror charges dating back to 2017.

Four defendants were acquitted in the case.

The prosecution accused the first defendant of assuming the leadership of a terrorist group from 2015 to 2019, endangering social peace, obstructing government administration, destruction of public property, planning to hijack police vehicles and kill police personnel as well as possessing firearms.

The others were charged with “joining a terrorist group, attempting to kill officers and police personnel, destroying public property, and possessing firearms.”

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The defendants lived in the popular neighbourhood of Al-Omraniya in Giza Governorate.

The Egyptian Front for Human Rights has recently said in its annual report that it had monitored an increase in the issuance of death sentences by civil criminal courts which reached 538 death sentences in 2022, compared to 403 sentences in 2021 and 295 sentences in 2020.

Rights groups have repeatedly warned that Egypt uses terror charges against dissidents and opposition figures it wishes to silence, with many sentenced in trials which are not fair and which do not provide them the right to a defence.