While nearly all world capitals in Europe and the United States, as well as United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, issued statements expressing deep concern over the mass death sentence issued on 24 March by an Egyptian court against 528 suspected Muslim Brotherhood members, the unprecedented ruling did not lead to a similar outcry locally, reflecting the deep divisions among Egyptians and the growing animosity towards the once most popular political Islamic group. Indeed the sentence issued by a criminal court in Minya in southern Egypt against the defendants, after they were convicted with attacking a police station, killing an officer and attempting to kill others in the aftermath of the bloody break-up of the sit-ins by Brotherhood supporters in Rabaa and Nahda on 14 August, would be easily appealed, according to lawyers, and most likely overturned. It was also revealed that the judge who issued the ruling, Saeed Youssef Sabri, had a long standing reputation in issuing harsh sentences, going as far as sentencing a man to 30 years imprisonment for a robbery and a possession of a knife when he presided over Beni-Suef Criminal Court in south Egypt. He also sentenced a man accused of sexual harassment to 15 years in prison, and another to 15 years for seeking to smuggle drugs to a prisoner. Yet, the possibility of abusing the judiciary for political purposes shed serious doubts on the independence of the Egyptian judges and the rule of law amid the ongoing confrontation between the state and supporters of Islamist groups opposed to the forced removal of former President and Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi, on 3 July. A few similar surprisingly harsh sentences were issued against Brotherhood suspected members by first-degree courts over the past few months, including an 11-year prison term against 14 young female demonstrators in Alexandria. Dozens of sympathizers arrested in daily demonstrations also received the maximum penalty stated in a newly-approved, and unpopular, Demonstration Law, ranging between four and five years imprisonment. However, most of these sentences were overturned in the appeal process, and there were certainly no mass death sentence issued before in absurd circumstances such as those surrounding the trial of the 528 defendants in Minya. The trial opened in Minya on 22 March against 545 defendants, and Judge Sabri hardly went through reading out the names of 50 defendants before he decided to proceed with the trial. When the lawyers protested, particularly as the majority of defendants were being tried in absentia, Judge Sabri shut them down, refused all their demands for enough time to study the case, and set a date for the verdict only two days later. Lawyers decided to boycott the ruling session, and sharply criticized the presiding judge, who also had on his judicial record scores of acquittal verdicts for police officers charged with killing peaceful protesters during the 25 January, 2011 Revolution against former President Hosni Mubarak. While local and international human rights groups sharply criticized the verdict, pointing out to the short period of the trial and failure to give the lawyers' the time to present their defense, the majority of liberal and leftist political parties in Egypt preferred to remain silent, saying they did not want to comment on judicial rulings, and that they were certain that it would be overturned in the Court of Appeal. "The ruling is only aimed at deterrence and sending a clear message to the Brotherhood that their violence will not be tolerated," said Shehab Wageeh, spokesman of the Free Egyptians Party. "Everyone knows this verdict will not be carried out, and we must be aware not to give in to the Brotherhood propaganda that's trying to use the verdict to tarnish the image of the Egyptian judiciary," he added. Dostour Party was the only political party that supported the removal of Morsi, and issued a statement expressing "astonishment and alarm" over the ruling on the same day it was made public. "While some might believe that such a ruling would help in deterring future violence, we believe that it would have a counter effect, providing a propaganda tool for the Brotherhood to incite more violence, and shedding serious doubts on the independence of the judiciary," the party said in a statement. However, hard-line, anti-Brotherhood figures and supporters of former Defense Minister Abdel-Fatah Sissi, who announced on 26 March that he was planning to compete in the upcoming presidential elections, likely to be held in early May, said the defendants "got what they deserved," and that there should have been many similar harsh verdicts since the Brotherhood started their protests nine months ago in order to stop violence. Pro-Sissi pages on Facebook and other social media pages on the Internet, also released videos reminding audience of the "crimes" the Brotherhood supporters committed in southern Egypt in the immediate aftermath of Morsi's removal in early July. Over 35 churches were set on fire in a matter of a few days, particularly in Minya and Assiut where many Christians have been living for centuries, as well as police stations and government buildings. "We should not forget about these crimes before we start expressing sympathy with the Brotherhood and criticize the death sentences issued by Minya's Criminal Court," said Samuel Ashai who continues to declare loyalty to Mubarak and his late Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman. "As a matter of fact, had we seen similar death sentences a while ago, perhaps the Brotherhood's violent protests would not have continued on a daily basis until today," he added. The Brotherhood, and the other Islamist parties that formed "The National Alliance in Defense of Legitimacy and Against the Coup" after Morsi's removal, indeed acted like they received a priceless gift following the release of the mass death sentence against its suspected members. "We reject unjust trials, faulty sentences and the determination of the coup supporters to destroy the judiciary," said a statement issued by the Alliance. They also issued an "appeal to honorable judges to act responsibly, save the reputation of the Egyptian judiciary and hold those who committed violations of the law responsible for their mistakes." The Alliance also criticized authorities "for seeking to abuse the judiciary and getting it involved in a political dispute between the revolutionaries and supporters of the coup," and accused the state and private media of "inciting judges to release unprecedented, harsh verdicts against our freedom fighters who are fighting peacefully for the rights of the Egyptian people."
