Will death sentences deter Sisi’s opponents in Egypt?

Seventy-five people have been sentenced to death in Egypt for protesting the 2013 coup by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

There’s been strong condemnation from human rights groups for the latest wave of death sentences imposed in Egypt.

Most of the 75 convicted were taking part in a sit-in at a public square in Cairo five years ago. More than 800 people died within hours when security forces moved in and opened fire.

The death sentences are the latest in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Egypt since now President el-Sisi toppled Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president.

Is reconciliation even possible now?

 

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Mohamed Elmasry – associate professor of media and cultural studies and chair of the journalism programme at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Sahar Aziz – professor of Law at Rutgers University, director of the Center on Security, Race, and Rights

Maged Mandour – political analyst