ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT: Verdict for ousted president points to sham trial

28 Apr 2015

[International Secretariat]

Region: ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT

Topic:

This verdict shatters any remaining illusion of independence and impartiality in Egypt’s criminal justice system Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director

Mohamed Morsi was convicted of “inciting violence” and detaining and torturing opposition protesters during clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the Federal Palace in Cairo in December 2012.

He and 14 others, many of whom are members or leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood or its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, had faced a catalogue of charges that included "murder", "incitement to murder", "violence” as well as "thuggery", "spreading rumours to disturb the work of judicial institutions" and “threatening civilians".

Mohamed Morsi is also facing a number of other charges in four other trials.

Even before he appeared in court Mohamed Morsi’s prospects for a fair trial were deeply compromised. For months after he was ousted on 3 July 2013, security forces detained Mohamed Morsi and his aides incommunicado in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance. During this period, he was questioned by prosecutors without a lawyer present, violating his rights under Egypt’s constitution and international law to challenge the legality of his detention and to an adequate defence. His legal team were only able to obtain a copy of the 7,000-page casefile after making a substantial payment just days before the trial began on 4 November 2013.

Amnesty International also documented several irregularities during the trial itself.

During the first hearing on 4 November 2013, the authorities barred several members of Mohamed Morsi’s self-appointed defence team from attending.

Investigations by the Public Prosecution into the December 2012 clashes between Mohamed Morsi’s supporters and opponents outside the Federal Palace in Cairo were also neither independent nor impartial. The Public Prosecution’s case focused entirely on abuses by his supporters, while ignoring violence by their opponents.

Amnesty International’s own research into the violence suggests that while supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood did commit human rights abuses, most of those killed during the clashes were actually supporters of the then-president.

21 April 2015
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE