CAIRO (MEMO) – The death penalty has become rampant in Egypt, reports Madr Masr, with executions in 2020 tripling to over 130.
In just one month, October of that year, 53 people were executed, more than the number of people executed each of the previous three years.
The number of executions in the last decade amount to almost half the number issued in the past century.
Egypt is one of the top executioners worldwide.
For months rights advocates have warned of Egypt’s escalating death penalty crisis with Amnesty International describing it as a “horrifying execution spree” with hangings up by 300 per cent.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) has said that under former president Hosni Mubarak’s regime there was a “practical suspension” of the death penalty.
Under current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi however, the judiciary has handed down the death penalty en masse, which Madr Masr has said is “political vengeance”.
There has also been a rise in the number of death sentences issued to prisoners convicted in criminal offences.
The alarming rise in executions in Egypt has been able to take place due to the establishment of terrorism circuit courts in 2013 which stipulated that the punishment for terror crimes be expanded from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
The anti-terrorism law, approved by Sisi, uses vague language to define terrorism, including anything that affects the security of society.
In Egypt, there are currently 100 crimes that are punishable by the death penalty.
By law families have the right to see their loved ones the day before they are executed, but many do not receive any notice.
Since mid-August last year there have been no hangings reported in Egypt, a significant decrease which could be down to curbing the practice or tighter control over the media to attempt to limit international criticism, according to the EIPR.
In another development, families of Egyptian prisoners at Abu Zaabal Prison have called for saving their sons from a “slow death” as a result of the treatment they are being subjected to by the prison services, Sharqia news website reported.
The families said in their complaint that they too were subjected to inhuman treatment by the prison services during their family visits.
“We were exposed to insults and verbal and physical abuse,” the families said, according to the news website.
“The situation is very bad. There is no food or water. The police only allowed families to carry in only two pieces of meat and an apple for each prisoner. Nothing more is allowed. They do not allow the entry of covers or clothes.”
They added: “We appeal to the officials to save our prisoners at Abu Zaabal from bad and inhuman treatment.”