Court Watch
Brotherhood and ongoing political unrest. Along with this recent life sentence, Badie has already received multiple life sentences and the death penalty for acts of violence associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and still faces charges in over 30 cases.
In this case, Egyptian court convicted Badie for his participation in violence that occurred in Giza on July 15, 2013 during demonstrations in support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. The fighting and violence resulted in the death of sev- eral individuals and injuries to many others.
The trial took place in a courtroom housed in a high- security prison. Judge Mohamed Nagi She- hata sentenced Badie and several others to life in prison. The firm sentence reflects Cairo’s recent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, specifi- cally its top leaders. The court session was initially held to gather witness statements, but Badie and the others received their verdict unexpectedly. Badie told the judge that he and the other defen- dants were the victims and not the accused.
Morsi, a prominent member of the Muslim Broth- erhood, was removed from office in June 2013 by then Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after a series of protests and a coup d’état. In response, supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood staged sit-ins throughout the country and set up camps to organize protests. The Egyptian military responded by initiating a campaign to stop the protests and raid the camps. Brotherhood sup- porters retaliated by burning police stations and other public property. The Egyptian government has viewed the protests as an act of terrorism, but Morsi supporters believe that the government is unfairly vilifying them. Following Badie’s arrest in July, the court ordered that the Muslim Brother- hood be outlawed and seized its assets.
Badie’s death sentences are up for appeal after criticism from the West and human rights groups concerned with how the mass trials have been conducted. The UN Office of the High Commis-
ILSA Quarterly » volume 23 » issue 2 » December 2014
sioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was alarmed after the Egyptian court ordered death sentences for hundreds of supporters involved in the Giza protests. The OHCHR felt that the lack of suffi- cient procedural protections violated international law. Human rights groups believe that political motives are tainting the court proceedings and due process is not being upheld. In March, the same court that sentenced Badie also sentenced 529 alleged Morsi supporters to death on similar charges. The judge overturned most of those sen- tences to life in prison as a result of strong criti- cism from the international community.
There has been concern that the political chaos will continue until the government and the Broth- erhood can reconcile their differences and inte- grate the group into society. The Egyptian govern- ment views the group as a terrorist organization that is threatening stability and wreaking havoc on innocent civilians. However, some experts in the international field suggest that the marginalization of this group may be pushing Brotherhood mem- bers to participate in violent extremism. Although tension remains high between government offi- cials and Brotherhood supporters, the hope is that the Egyptian courts will take an unbiased stance to adhere to due process laws and execute fair trials.
* Submitted by Cana Noel .
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