Help Stop Executions Of Six Men Unfairly Tried (Egypt: UA 91/16)
من الاخر | رسالة المجلس الثوري المصري عن كارثة رشيد
October 1, 2016
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October 3, 2016
Egypt’s defence minister has ratified the death sentences of six civilian men tried by a military court in a case marred by enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment. The men may now contest the ruling before a higher court.
On 21 August Egypt’s defence minister signed-off on death sentences handed down against six civilian men by a military court last May in Case 174 of 2015, known by the media as the “advanced operations committee case”.
Under the country’s Code of Military Justice, the president or his representatives must ratify all judgements by military courts. All the men have signed documents acknowledging that they have been notified of the minister’s decision, their representatives told Amnesty International.
Under Egyptian law, they have 60 days from the date of notification to challenge the judgement before a higher court, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals. If that court rejects the men’s appeal they will be executed, unless the president pardons them or commutes their sentences.
Officials notified five of the men of the minister’s decision on 21 September:Abdul Basir Abdul Rauf, Mohamed Fawzi Abd al-Gawad Mahmoud, Reda Motamad Fahmy Abd al-Monem, Ahmed Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, andMahmoud al-Sharif Mahmoud. The sixth man, Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin, was notified on 15 September.
The defence minister also ratified the prison sentences of 12 civilians jailed in the same trial, as well as two death sentences and six prison sentences handed down in absentia. Officials have notified all but three of the men currently serving prison sentences of the decision.
The authorities have not investigated evidence that the men were subjected to enforced disappearances following their arrests in 2015, nor have they investigated the men’s complaints of torture and other ill-treatment.
1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
- Calling on the Egyptian authorities to retry all those convicted in the case before an ordinary, civilian court without recourse to the death penalty and in proceedings that respect international fair trial standards and exclude “confessions” and other evidence obtained through torture and other ill-treatment;
- Calling upon them to open an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment;
- Urging them to introduce a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty.
Contact these 2 officials by 14 November, 2016:
Defence Minister
Colonel General Sedqi Sobhi
Ministry of Defence
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
F: +202 2 414 4248 / +202 2 414 4247
E: mc@afmic.gov.eg and mod@afmic.gov.eg
Salutation: Your Excellency
Defence Minister
Colonel General Sedqi Sobhi
Ministry of Defence
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
F: +202 2 414 4248 / +202 2 414 4247
E: mc@afmic.gov.eg and mod@afmic.gov.eg
Salutation: Your Excellency
Ambassador Yasser Reda
Embassy of Egypt
3521 International Ct NW, Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 244 4319 -OR- 202 244 5131 I Phone: 202 895 5400 I
Email: ambassador@egyptembassy.net
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
Embassy of Egypt
3521 International Ct NW, Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 244 4319 -OR- 202 244 5131 I Phone: 202 895 5400 I
Email: ambassador@egyptembassy.net
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
