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Egypt sentences 14 human rights activists to prison on terror-related charges – JURIST

The Egyptian Emergency State Security Criminal Court Sunday sentenced 14 people to prison on terrorism-related charges, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). Those sentenced include human rights activists and members of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF). The sentences range from five to 15 years.According to the EIPR, the court does not “uphold minimum fair trial guarantees,” and its verdicts cannot be appealed. The EIPR believes the sentences were handed out unjustly and claims that the country is run by “repressive laws” which disallow a fair trial.The main charge being faced by the activists is “joining, leading, financing and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.” Although Egypt outlawed the group in 2014, the Council on Foreign Relations have described the Muslim Brotherhood as the most “influential Islamist organisation in the world.” The groups claimed mission is to promote “religious law” and preach “political activism.”ECRF Executive Director Ezzat Ghoniem was one of the 14 people sentenced. Frontline Defenders, which tracks Ghoniem’s detention, says he is “a human rights defender and lawyer focusing on fair trial guarantees and enforced disappearances.” He has remained unlawfully detained since September 13, 2018.Amnesty International has described the arrests as a “gross violation of [the activists’] right to a fair trial” and claims that the defendants have been subjected to “a litany” of human right violations while in detention.