• EGYPT
  • October 8, 2017
  • 4 minutes read

Under Military Junta Rule: 56 Extrajudicial Killings, 74 Execution Sentences in 3 Months in Egypt

Under Military Junta Rule: 56 Extrajudicial Killings, 74 Execution Sentences in 3 Months in Egypt

The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain (AOHR) issued a report documenting details of human rights violations in Egypt in the third quarter of 2017 – from July 1, 2017 to the end of September 2017.


AOHR said 56 people were killed outside the framework of the law, in the country’s governorates except Sinai, with 34 detainees killed in detention centers and 21 Egyptians assassinated by the security forces supposedly during arrest because they were wanted on anti-regime charges. Also, one civilian was killed as security forces broke up a protest rally on Warraq island.


According to the report, during the third quarter of 2017, the number of people arbitrarily detained on charges of opposition to the coup regime was 801 citizens, including 19 minors. Most of these detainees were first subjected to enforced disappearance for more than 24 hours, while some continue to be subjected to enforced disappearance until now.


Also, according to the report, detainees’ trials on charges related to opposition to the coup regime in the third quarter of 2017 culminated in judicial verdicts in 74 cases before civil and military courts.


Those were trials of 1998 Egyptians. Of those, 628 were acquitted, that is 31.4% of the total. Meanwhile, 1370 were convicted in military and civil courts.


Of the above convictions, 419 were sentenced to life imprisonment; 501 were sentenced to more than 5 years in prison; 348 were sentenced to three to five years in jail; 28 were sentenced to periods less than three years, and 73 Egyptians had death sentences confirmed.


AOHR’s report further stated that during the period of monitoring, and as a result of military operations in Sinai, 191 civilians were killed, including 173 people the army said were killed as a result of security clashes, while the rest were killed randomly according to official statements issued by the Egyptian army.


Also, during the monitoring period, 88 people were rounded up and detained in Sinai. The spokesman of the Egyptian armed forces announced that 30 of those were wanted for security issues, while 58 people were arrested on suspicion of committing various crimes.


The report warned of the continued collapse in the human rights situation in Egypt in light of international indifference to the repressive practices of the Egyptian regime, which is most likely to claim yet more victims.


The report called on the UN Secretary-General, the African Union and the European Union to exert more efforts to pressure the Egyptian regime to respect human rights. The Egyptian regime sees in the mutual interests of the various states involved a green light to continue its ongoing policy of extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests.