After issuing the death sentence on14 defendants The ACIJLP Calls upon the Egyptian government to abolish the death penalty

Cairo, 26^th September 2012  

 

After issuing the death sentence on14 defendants

The ACIJLP Calls upon the Egyptian government to abolish the death penalty

 

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its deep concern over the violations committed against the right to life in Egypt, whether the source of these violations is criminal acts, terrorist operations, or a continuation of the application of the death penalty.

The ACIJLP expresses its full condemnation of any operations or serious criminal acts, committed by individuals or offenders of organized groups, but that concern is due to the severity of legislation and economic, social and cultural measures which reduce committing these criminal practices and inhumane acts.

The excessive use in the application of the death penalty against those involved in the commission of many crimes that do not rise to the level of this severe penalty aggregated the problem.

The ACIJLP also expresses its deep concern over the judgment of the Supreme State Security Court in Ismailia on Monday 24 September 2012 which provide for applying the death penalty against 14 defendants, and life imprisonment on 4 others, after being convicted in the attacks on a number of police stations in El-Arish where members of the security forces were killed and 6 other defendants were acquitted.

Although the ACIJLP expressing its full condemnation on this crime and those involved in its commission, but the ACIJLP is concerned about the availability of guarantees of fair trial for the accused and is afraid of issuing such judgment as a desire in addition to militancy in achieving general deterrence in order to maintain security after the events of the 25^th January revolution.

The ACIJLP's concerns may find its support in the inadequacy of the time frame of the trial of those involved in committing a terrorist crime and sentenced to death in a period not exceeding 15 months where a death penalty will be issued on 14 defendants to death. The ACIJLP believes that the timing of the crime was one of the motives to speed up the rule regardless of the availability of guarantees of fair trial. The ACIJLP is also afraid of the fact that this rule will be the beginning of a series of death sentences in light of the circumstances under which Egypt is going through, in a way that threatens the right to life.

The ACIJLP stresses the need to provide all defendants with the guarantees of fair trial and to take into account the guarantees which ensure protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, which were adopted by resolution No. 50/1984 of Economic and Social Council on 25 May 1984. The ACIJLP also calls upon   the Egyptian government to pay attention to the resolutions issued by the UN General Assembly such as resolution No. 162/49 of 18 December 2007, resolution No. 63/168 of 18 December 2008 and its recent resolution No. 65/2006 issued on 21 December 2010, which invites all States Parties to suspend the application of the death penalty as a prelude to its abolition.

The ACIJLP calls upon the Egyptian government to abolish the death penalty and to sign the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

The facts of the case started on June 2011 when unknown assailants attacked, police departments in El Arish (North Sinai Governorate), killing five of the security forces from different ranks and also attacked a bank and took the money .

The Supreme State Security Court in Ismailia issued death sentence on 14 defendants after the approval of the Mufti on executing the death penalty on them for killing police and military officers in the North Sinai Governorate which experiencing a military campaign against militants since August.

On 24^th September, the above mentioned Court rendered a life imprisonment on 4 and acquitted 6 persons and the expiration of the case for one accused because of death. The Supreme State Security Prosecution stated that the convicted are members of an extremist Islamist group.

The prosecution has attributed to the convicts charges regarding the call for suspending the provisions of the Constitution and the law, preventing institutions from carrying out their role, the theft of firearms and ammunition of the Ministry of Interior and willful sabotage of public properties.