Mass death sentence ruling in Egypt sparks ambassador protest

Egypt's ambassador to the European Union, Ihab Fawzi, has reportedly sent a letter to his country's foreign minister, Sameh Soukry, criticising a Cairo court's decision to pass a mass death sentence on convicted members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Fawzi's objections have to do with the fact that the sentences have put the Egyptian regime in a negative light among the countries of the EU," a source told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

"The sentences undermine all the efforts Fawzi has made to change the negative image of the regime abroad, specifically in the EU, which is influenced by what liberal dissidents report about a crackdown on freedoms in Egypt."

When a court in Minya province sentenced hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death in 2014, the ambassador made similar objections, the source said.

Mahmoud Ramadan was hanged in a Cairo prison for the murder of two men during a pro-Morsi rally.

They were convicted of storming a police station and killing officers in 2013, following the army's overthrow of Egypt's president and Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt has seen a spate of death sentences issued against dissidents. Early in March, Mahmoud Ramadan was hanged in a Cairo prison for the murder of two men during a pro-Morsi rally.

This was the first judicial execution under President Abdel Fattah's rule.

A Giza criminal court recently passed death sentences on Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and 13 others and referred their cases to Egypt's grand mufti.

If he does not pass clemency, then the Muslim Brotherhood members will be executed.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.