Egypt gives mass death sentences to political dissent

Egyptian authorities have stepped up their crackdown on political dissent. Two important court rulings were handed down against two leading anti-government blocs.
The first took place in the governorate of Minya where a judge gave the death penalty to 683 individuals allegedly supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Among those convicted is Mohamed Badie, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. The same judge had sentenced to death 529 defendants last March in a similar case but in a surprise move reversed the verdicts upholding the death penalty for 37 while reducing the sentences of the remaining defendants to life in prison. Defendants in both cases faced charges of inciting violence and attacking the Matay police station, setting it ablaze and killing one officer. Another court ordered the prohibition of all 6th of April activities, the youth revolutionary group that had widely participated and influenced the course of the revolution. The verdict came after a lawyer filled a lawsuit against the group accusing it of ‘tarnishing Egypt’s image” – the verdict however needs to be verified by the interim president to come into effect. The mass trials and mass capital punishment sentences have caused widespread outrage among Egyptians who believe that the judiciary is helping the current government crack down on Islamic figures and silence all voices dissent.