Geneva: Terming it an ‘unfair trial’, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged Egypt’s appeals court to overturn mass death sentences handed down by a lower court. 75 people, including prominent Islamist leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi, were awarded death sentences by an Egyptian Court, over a 2013 sit-in that ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters.
Bachelet said the sentences “would represent a gross and irreversible miscarriage of justice.” She urged the Egyptian Court of Appeal to review this verdict and ensure that international standards of justice are respected by setting it aside.
Rejecting Bachelet’s comments Egypt said they were influenced by “the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood lies.”
Amnesty International has also condemned the decision, calling the trial “disgraceful”.