Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s war against the Muslim Brotherhood

The Egyptian military government, led by Field Marshall Abdel Fattah El Sisi, has came down to “a new low of summary justice and state terror” with the threat of large-scale executions on an unprecedented magnitude. The death sentences a couple of days ago to 529 supporters of dethroned democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi, constitute the largest mass capital executions by court not only in the history of Egypt but in the world. They contrive pictures of wholesale civilian murder of genocidal operation in Cambodia, Rwanda, and of the Nazi time.

The trial that was held in south of Cairo had only the least minimum remnants of judicial process - it lasted two sessions over three days and several reports from suspects’ lawyers asserted they were refused even the right to raise a defence. The suspects, described by mainstream press as members of Muslim Brotherhood, were accused of assasinating one police officer, of the attempted murder of a second, and of taking part in a demonstration that smashed a police office. Surprisingly sixteen were discharged, whereas the 529 are allowed to appeal where the hope is the sentences may be discarded as many related cases previously have been. The hearing of a second batch of 700 on similar charges began yesterday.

These verdicts are an indication of the confidence of the army regime, increasingly following the spirit and character of Husni Mubarak, in the unwavering mass support among secular democrats for the strike against the Ikhwaan and the demise of Morsi last summer. From that time at least sixteen-thousands political discondants have been arrested and put behind bars. International hesitation at the derailing of Egypt’s democratic uprising has also been noted by the government which is set to propose for the upcoming widely disparaged presidential voting its leader El-Sisi, the former minister of defense who led the coup last July.

If the international...