Cairo under fire over 'flawed' trials
Publish date: 26 June 2017
Issue Number: 731
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Egypt
UN human rights experts last week urged Egypt to halt the execution of six men sentenced to death for killing a policeman, saying that their trials were 'flawed' and 'did not meet international standards of fairness'. This after the country's top Appeals Court upheld the death sentences against the men who were charged with killing the guard of a judge who was on the Bench in a trial of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. A report on the News24 site notes that Egypt's Interior Ministry accused them of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. The UN rights experts said the convictions were based on forced confessions which were later retracted.