Egypt sentences Morsi supporters to death

The pair sentenced on Saturday join hundreds of others facing execution for their support of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Two prisoners were sentenced to death for killing young men by throwing them from the roof of a building [EPA]

An Egyptian court has sentenced two people to death for throwing people off a roof during violence in Alexandria last year, the country’s state news agency said.

The court handed down the sentences to two supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday, according to AFP news agency, adding to the 529 people sentenced to death last week for their alleged involvement in violence that has swept the country since July, when the army overthrew Morsi.

One of the two people thrown from the building in Alexandria was killed.

The court submitted its verdict for approval to the mufti. 

Mass sentencing

Amateur video posted on social network sites at the time showed men throwing two youths from the building.

It showed four young men on the rooftop who are followed by several older men, one of them bearded and holding a flag.
The men are seen throwing stones at the youths and later one is thrown from the roof. The video goes on to show club-wielding men beating the youth’s body. Another man is later thrown from the roof and survives but is injured.

The incident is said to have taken place in the coastal city on July 5, during protests calling for Morsi’s reinstatement. The sentenced men were among 63 people on trial for violence in the Sidi Gaber neighbourhood. Verdicts for the remaining defendants are expected in May.

Last week’s mass sentencing of 529 people provoked outrage and condemnation from human rights groups, the US and the European Union.

An additional 700 Brotherhood supporters, including Mohamed Badie, the supreme guide of the movement, were also due in court last week but their trial was adjourned until April 28.

Journalist funeral

In Menoufia, mourners gathered on Saturday for the funeral of 22-year-old journalist Mayada Ashraf, who was killed on Friday while reporting anti-government clashes in the northern Cairo neighbourhood of Ein Shams.

Ashraf, who worked for the privately owned Al-Dustour newspaper, was shot in the head.

According to AFP news agency, a judicial source said preliminary investigations revealed that five masked Brotherhood gunmen opened fire during the clashes before fleeing.

Source: AFP