Court hands death sentences to 28 and jails 38 others over the killing of Hisham Barakat in 2015. An Egyptian court has sentenced 28 pe...
Court hands death sentences to 28 and
jails 38 others over the killing of Hisham
Barakat in 2015.
An Egyptian court has sentenced 28 people to
death over the killing of a top prosecutor two
years ago, security and judicial officials said.
The court on Saturday handed other
defendants a variety of jail terms up to life in
prison.
Hisham Barakat was killed in 2015 when a car
bomb struck his convoy in Cairo, an attack for
which Egypt blamed the Muslim Brotherhood
and Gaza-based Hamas . Both groups denied having a role
The court sentenced 15 defendants to life in
prison, while a further eight received 15
years, and 15 others were handed 10 years,
the officials said.
"The verdicts were shocking today," said
Ahmed Saad, one of the defence lawyers.
jails 38 others over the killing of Hisham
Barakat in 2015.
death over the killing of a top prosecutor two
years ago, security and judicial officials said.
The court on Saturday handed other
defendants a variety of jail terms up to life in
prison.
Hisham Barakat was killed in 2015 when a car
bomb struck his convoy in Cairo, an attack for
which Egypt blamed the Muslim Brotherhood
and Gaza-based Hamas . Both groups denied having a role
The court sentenced 15 defendants to life in
prison, while a further eight received 15
years, and 15 others were handed 10 years,
the officials said.
"The verdicts were shocking today," said
Ahmed Saad, one of the defence lawyers.
"Others who had nothing to do with the
assassination of martyr Hisham Barakat
received life sentences.
They had nothing to
do with the incident."
The rulings can still be appealed.
The death sentences have already been
approved by the mufti, Egypt's official
interpreter of Islamic law, whose opinion is
legally required but not binding.
Of the 67 defendants, 15 are still at large.
Egypt has struggled to quell violence by armed
groups since the military overthrew Muslim
Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in
2013 and cracked down on his supporters.
Egyptian courts have sentenced hundreds of
Morsi supporters to death since his
overthrow, but many have appealed and won
new trials.
Morsi and other top figures of his Muslim
Brotherhood have also faced trial.
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