Mass trial involved 739 defendants
Twelve death row prisoners are at imminent risk of execution after Egypt’s highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, upheld their death sentences on June 14, 2021. Their 2018 mass trial was grossly unfair and marred by allegations of enforced disappearance and torture.
The twelve men were convicted and sentenced to death for their involvement in protests related to the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013. They are currently imprisoned in conditions that violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement and denial of adequate medical care.
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Egyptian authorities do not announce execution plans and frequently fail to inform families or lawyers of the day of the execution or allow them a final visit in violation of Egyptian law. The Egyptian authorities have accelerated their use of the death penalty since October 2020, deepening fears that the 12 men’s executions are imminent. According to media reports, at least 74 men and women have been executed this year. In 2020, Egyptian authorities executed at least 107 individuals, making Egypt the third top executioner globally.
The twelve men are: Abdelrahman Abdelhamid el-Bar, Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim el-Beltagy, Safwat Mohamed Hamouda Higazy, Osama Yassin, Ahmed Mohamed Aref, Ihab Wagdi Mohamed, Mohamed Abdelhai Hussein al-Faramawy, Mostafa Abdelhai Hussein al-Faramawy, Ahmed Farouk Kamel, Haytham al-Sayed al-Araby, Mohamed Mahmoud Ali Zanati and Abdelazim Ibrahim Attiya.