Egypt, May 2014: 1,238 detainees sentenced to 5,823 years in jail

The Egyptian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms reported that the month of May saw a series of unfair judgments against political detainees, with 1,238 detainees brought to trial with sentences amounting to 5,823 years, and fines reaching 7.56 million Egyptian pounds.

The Observatory said in its monthly report on the trials that have been held in the month of May entitled “Unjust sentences and heavy fines”, that these trials are among numerous violations which have undermined all fairness and credibility, and is in clear violation of Egyptian laws and norms and international conventions which were developed in order to achieve justice and equality of all.

The detainees in these cases were arrested while exercising their legitimate right to demonstrate and express their opinion, hundreds more were arrested from their homes and workplaces unlawfully, all were charged similarly.

The Observatory confirmed that the decisions of the public prosecutor over the past month, as well as the verdicts of the judiciary which have been condemned by the international community, were a conspiracy to limit rights and freedoms in Egypt, and serve as a blow to the great January 25 revolution. These unfair judgments and heavy fines are unprecedented not only in the history of Egypt, but in any country of the free world, it explained. They represent a serious threat to the security and stability of society aimed at breaking the will of the Egyptian people and forcing them to relinquish their legitimate rights.

According to all the reports about the judicial system in Egypt, there is a continued absence of justice with the oppression and suppression and murder of tens of thousands of detainees.

The Observatory reported: “We lack the standards of prompt justice and these sentences are based mostly on political judgments. Every day is seeing an increase in the number of convicts with the most bizarre sentences. The years of the absence of freedoms are multiplying and surpassing the age of the oldest nation on earth.”

The Observatory requested coup authorities release all political prisoners, stop the pursuit of political activists and ensure the freedom of opinion and expression of the Egyptian people. They also asked for charges against demonstrators be dropped, stop the extension of the repressive system and return independence of the judiciary and remove the political exploitation of power, in order to preserve the security and stability of the homeland