Egypt hangs 15 for Sinai Peninsula violence

International Desk: Egyptian authorities have hanged 15 men at two prisons in the north of the country as part of a controversial policy.

The men were convicted for attacks committed in 2013 against the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula that resulted in the deaths of soldiers and the destruction of vehicles.

The executed men were assumed to have carried out the deadly operations as part of the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

ISIL-affiliated fighters have ramped up deadly attacks in Sinai in recent years, inflicting heavy losses on the Egyptian military as well as civilians.

A recent attack on a mosque in Northern Sinai killed over 300 and was widely attributed to ISIL, also known as ISIS, although the group did not claim responsibility.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered security forces to put down the campaign with "brutal force".

Some say Tuesday's executions are another example of human rights abuses under Sisi, who seized power from the democratically elected Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 military-backed coup.

"These death sentences and executions are a flagrant breach of international law. Trials in Egypt routinely fail to meet basic fair trial standards, and this is especially so in mass trials and military tribunals - as in this case," Maya Foa, director of international human rights organisation Reprieve, said in a statement.

According to figures from Cornell University's Death Penalty Worldwide, a project designed to inform policymakers, judges, scholars and others, the years since Sisi took power have seen a sharp increase in executions.

From 2011, the year former President Hosni Mubarak was deposed, to 2013, Egypt executed one person.

Source: Agencies


risingbd/Dec 27, 2017/Mukul