Egyptian Court Sentences Muslim Brotherhood Leader to Death
By Yousuf Basil and Ben Brumfield, CNN
10:50 AM ET, Sat April 11, 2015
Mohamed Soltan, 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist on hunger strike, to be sentenced Sunday
Letter from Soltan's sister: "Your face, with its beautiful smile ... now looks permanently in pain"
An Egyptian court has sentenced to death the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and 13 more members of his group, state-run Nile TV reported Saturday.
The sentences will be appealed.
The criminal court sentenced the 14 defendants to death by hanging and 34 other defendants to life in prison on charges of plotting terrorist attacks against state facilities, Nile TV reported on its website.
All of those condemned were supporters of former President Mohamed Morsy's, the country's first democratically elected president, who was overthrown in 2013 in a military coup that bitterly split Egyptians.
Coup violence killed hundreds on both sides
During the summer of unrest, hundreds of people died when the police forcefully cleared camps set up by protesting Morsy supporters and when Morsy's supporters attacked police stations, government buildings, and churches.
Pro-Morsy supporters attacked police stations, and security forces opened fired on demonstrators.
Badie had been sentenced to death before on a conviction in the deadly attack on a police station. He has also been sentenced to life in prison for inciting violence during 2013's unrest.
The Egyptian news outlet Al Ahram reported that Badie had been sentenced to death twice before, but an appeals court overturned one verdict, and Egypt's Grand Mufti disapproved of the other.
After the coup, the new government outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsy was arrested, and he too faces trial.
Presiding judge known for harsh verdicts
The presiding judge was Mohamed Nagy Shehata, who is known for his harsh verdicts. He has sentenced more than 180 people to death and was the original judge in a high-profile case case involving Al Jazeera journalists.
On Sunday, sentences will be handed down to Mohamed Soltan, a 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist who has been languishing in Cairo's notorious Tora Prison, where he has been on a hunger strike for more than 14 months, and 36 others.
They face charges that include "funding the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in" -- a mass protest in Cairo in August 2013 that was forcibly dispersed by security forces -- and spreading "false information" to destabilize Egypt. They were among 51 people arrested after the sit-in in a sweeping crackdown on Morsy's supporters.
Sister's letter: 'Your face ... now looks permanently in pain'
Mohamed's sister, Hanaa, is anxious about what the future holds for her family. She wrote a letter to her brother expressing her feelings.
"Dear Mohamed," the letter read. "I'm often asked why, and how, you've kept up your hunger strike for 14 months now, despite our pleas for you to end it. I've watched your body go from a plump basketball-playing frame to one that has withered down to its bones.
"Your face, with its beautiful smile often grinning, now looks permanently in pain. And, all I can do to explain is to tell people that it's the only form of control you have to hold on to -- now more than ever, on the eve of your sentencing."
CNN's Don Melvin contributed to this report.
14 Morsi loyalists, including Brotherhood leaders, sentenced to death
El-Sayed Gamal El-Din
Ahram Online
Saturday 11 Apr 2015
In the 'Rabaa operation room' case, 37 others sentenced to life, including hunger striker Mohamed Soltan and Saad El-Shater
Fourteen men, including Muslim Brotherhood leaders, were sentenced to death on Saturday, for setting up an "operation room" at the protest camp that supported ousted president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya area in the summer of 2013, among other charges.
Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie, the son of leading member and businessman Hassan Malek, Omar, as well as leading member Saad El-Hoseiny are among those who received the capital punishment.
Former Brotherhood spokesperson Mahmoud Ghozlan and leading member Saad Emara were sentenced to death in absentia.
Meanwhile, in the same case, 37 other defendants were sentenced to life in prison, including hunger striker Mohamed Soltan and Saad El-Shater, son of Brotherhood strongman and business tycoon Khairat El-Shater.
Soltan, an Egyptian-American, has been on a hunger strike since 26 January 2014. According to his family, his health condition has alarmingly deteriorated ever since, and he has repeatedly lost consciousness.
The defendants can lodge an appeal against the verdict.
After Morsi's ouster in July 2013, the now-banned Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, and other supporting Islamist groups held a sit-in to protest his deposal in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya. Security personnel forcibly dispersed the massive protest camp in August 2013, leaving hundreds dead.
Since Morsi's ouster, courts have issued mass death sentences in a number of cases against Morsi loyalists.
Brotherhood supreme guide Badie was sentenced to death in two other cases, with one overturned by an appeals court and the second rejected by the Grand Mufti, who has to approve all death sentences in Egypt.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/127391.aspx
10:50 AM ET, Sat April 11, 2015
Mohamed Soltan, 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist on hunger strike, to be sentenced Sunday
Letter from Soltan's sister: "Your face, with its beautiful smile ... now looks permanently in pain"
An Egyptian court has sentenced to death the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and 13 more members of his group, state-run Nile TV reported Saturday.
The sentences will be appealed.
The criminal court sentenced the 14 defendants to death by hanging and 34 other defendants to life in prison on charges of plotting terrorist attacks against state facilities, Nile TV reported on its website.
All of those condemned were supporters of former President Mohamed Morsy's, the country's first democratically elected president, who was overthrown in 2013 in a military coup that bitterly split Egyptians.
Coup violence killed hundreds on both sides
During the summer of unrest, hundreds of people died when the police forcefully cleared camps set up by protesting Morsy supporters and when Morsy's supporters attacked police stations, government buildings, and churches.
Pro-Morsy supporters attacked police stations, and security forces opened fired on demonstrators.
Badie had been sentenced to death before on a conviction in the deadly attack on a police station. He has also been sentenced to life in prison for inciting violence during 2013's unrest.
The Egyptian news outlet Al Ahram reported that Badie had been sentenced to death twice before, but an appeals court overturned one verdict, and Egypt's Grand Mufti disapproved of the other.
After the coup, the new government outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsy was arrested, and he too faces trial.
Presiding judge known for harsh verdicts
The presiding judge was Mohamed Nagy Shehata, who is known for his harsh verdicts. He has sentenced more than 180 people to death and was the original judge in a high-profile case case involving Al Jazeera journalists.
On Sunday, sentences will be handed down to Mohamed Soltan, a 27-year-old U.S.-Egyptian activist who has been languishing in Cairo's notorious Tora Prison, where he has been on a hunger strike for more than 14 months, and 36 others.
They face charges that include "funding the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in" -- a mass protest in Cairo in August 2013 that was forcibly dispersed by security forces -- and spreading "false information" to destabilize Egypt. They were among 51 people arrested after the sit-in in a sweeping crackdown on Morsy's supporters.
Sister's letter: 'Your face ... now looks permanently in pain'
Mohamed's sister, Hanaa, is anxious about what the future holds for her family. She wrote a letter to her brother expressing her feelings.
"Dear Mohamed," the letter read. "I'm often asked why, and how, you've kept up your hunger strike for 14 months now, despite our pleas for you to end it. I've watched your body go from a plump basketball-playing frame to one that has withered down to its bones.
"Your face, with its beautiful smile often grinning, now looks permanently in pain. And, all I can do to explain is to tell people that it's the only form of control you have to hold on to -- now more than ever, on the eve of your sentencing."
CNN's Don Melvin contributed to this report.
14 Morsi loyalists, including Brotherhood leaders, sentenced to death
El-Sayed Gamal El-Din
Ahram Online
Saturday 11 Apr 2015
In the 'Rabaa operation room' case, 37 others sentenced to life, including hunger striker Mohamed Soltan and Saad El-Shater
Fourteen men, including Muslim Brotherhood leaders, were sentenced to death on Saturday, for setting up an "operation room" at the protest camp that supported ousted president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya area in the summer of 2013, among other charges.
Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie, the son of leading member and businessman Hassan Malek, Omar, as well as leading member Saad El-Hoseiny are among those who received the capital punishment.
Former Brotherhood spokesperson Mahmoud Ghozlan and leading member Saad Emara were sentenced to death in absentia.
Meanwhile, in the same case, 37 other defendants were sentenced to life in prison, including hunger striker Mohamed Soltan and Saad El-Shater, son of Brotherhood strongman and business tycoon Khairat El-Shater.
Soltan, an Egyptian-American, has been on a hunger strike since 26 January 2014. According to his family, his health condition has alarmingly deteriorated ever since, and he has repeatedly lost consciousness.
The defendants can lodge an appeal against the verdict.
After Morsi's ouster in July 2013, the now-banned Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, and other supporting Islamist groups held a sit-in to protest his deposal in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya. Security personnel forcibly dispersed the massive protest camp in August 2013, leaving hundreds dead.
Since Morsi's ouster, courts have issued mass death sentences in a number of cases against Morsi loyalists.
Brotherhood supreme guide Badie was sentenced to death in two other cases, with one overturned by an appeals court and the second rejected by the Grand Mufti, who has to approve all death sentences in Egypt.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/127391.aspx
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