A campaign to gather support for stopping the execution of the first elected Egyptian civilian president and hundreds of political dissidents called “Stop the Execution of Democracy: Stop the Execution of Morsi”, was launched today with a petition signed by many distinguished personalities and international organisations. This campaign is part of a broader campaign against the brutal military dictatorship and for the return of democracy titled, “Save Egypt”.

The campaign will include a series of events and news conferences to be held in the USA and Europe calling for the halting of the executions.

The campaign officially commenced with a petition demanding that the United Nations, it’s human rights agencies, the European Union and the United States take immediate and urgent action to stop the death penalty against Dr Morsi, tens of leading opposition political figures, and hundreds of dissidents. It is common knowledge that these verdicts followed sham trials that lacked even a pretense at due process. The petition was signed by a number of well known organizations and personalities and is due to be delivered to the United Nations, the European Union, the European Parliament, the African Parliament, the White House and foreign ministries of tens of countries.

The petition highlights the grave consequences of the death sentence passed against President Morsi, as well as the mass death sentences passed against hundreds of academics, former parliamentarians, students and women activists.

It reiterated that the death sentence of President Morsi is tantamount to sounding the death knell of the march to democracy, freedom and justice, which started with the Arab Spring, and that the international community has a moral and practical responsibility to take action to prevent  this heinous crime. The petition added, “Failure to do so will lead to more chaos and instability, both in Egypt and the Middle East”.

The signatories called upon all countries to cease their support for  General Sisi and urged the UN to start serious investigations into the massacres that took place in Egypt after the 3rd of July military coup, as well as the ongoing systematic human rights violations, especially those against political prisoners. Furthermore, the petition warned that, by crushing the hope of Egyptian youth of  attaining democracy and freedom, it will make them susceptible targets for recruitment by terrorist organizations, or alternatively, will encourage them to join a northbound flux of immigration from North Africa.

Among the signatories of the petition are:

–    United National Anti-war Coalition, USA
–    Stop the War Coalition, UK
–    Gandhi Global Center for Peace
–    Code Pink, USA
–    The National Lawyers Guild
–    All 4 Justice
–    Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition and International Action Center, USA
–    Mohamed M. Marzouki, Former President Of Tunisia
–    Ramsey Clark, former, U.S. Attorney General
–    Arun M. Gandhi
–    Professor Noam Chomsky
–    Lord Alderdice
–    Baroness Tonge
–    Mike Gravel, Former United States Senator
–    James Abourezk, Former United States Senator
–    Annette Groth, German MP
–    Professor John Esposito
–    Lord David Steel
–    Alice Walker, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning, 1983, USA
–    Dr Norman Finkelstein
–    Danny Glover, American actor, movie star and film director, USA
–    John Austin, Former Labour MP, UK
–    Valter Mutt, Member of the Swedish Parliament
–    Hillevi Larsson, Member of the Swedish Parliament
–    Dominique Peschard, Former President
–    Ligue Des Droits et Llibertés, Canada
–    Martine Eloy, Former coordinator
–    Ligue Des Droits et Libertés, Canada
–    Medea Benjamin, Founder, Code Pink, USA
–    Sara Flounders, Co-Director, International Action Center, USA.