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Article Egypt: Criminal Court Gives Head of Muslim Brotherhood a Death Sentence

(Mar. 19, 2015) On March 16, 2015, the Criminal Court of Cairo handed down a death sentence to Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie. Badie was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and inciting violence. The court also sentenced 13 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization to death. The court had referred the case to Egypt’s Grand Religious Cleric to obtain his scholarly advice about the sentence. (Death Sentence for 14 of the Muslim Brotherhood Leaders, AL NAHAR (Mar.16, 2015) (in Arabic).)

The prosecution had accused Badie of creating a control room to direct the violence and to control the movements of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood who attacked police stations and killed a police officer in August 2013. (Id.)

This is not the first time that Badie has faced the death sentence. The Criminal Court of Bani Swief, south of Cairo, also found him guilty of murder and gave him a death sentence. However, the Court of Cassation repealed that sentence after Badie’s defense lawyer filed a petition before the Court. Badie is a veterinary pathologist by training and assumed the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2010. (Id.)

Badie’s defense lawyer stated in response to the recent court decision against his client that the court had ruled on the death penalty before the defense had concluded its closing argument. He has vowed to file a petition before the Court of Cassation to repeal the sentence. (Id.)

The Court of Cassation is the highest judicial body in the Egyptian court system. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court of Cassation has the authority to scrutinize the decision of a criminal court. The Court of Cassation will void a death penalty sentence if it finds that there was a breach of law during the trial process or in the interpretation of the Criminal Code by the lower court judges, and return the case to the criminal court to be adjudicated by different judges. The prosecution, as well as the defense, have the authority to appeal a decision of the criminal court. (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1937 (as last amended by Law No. 95, 2003), art. 446, Mohamoon-Montada website (in Arabic).)

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Chicago citation style:

Sadek, George. Egypt: Criminal Court Gives Head of Muslim Brotherhood a Death Sentence. 2015. Web Page. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-03-19/egypt-criminal-court-gives-head-of-muslim-brotherhood-a-death-sentence/.

APA citation style:

Sadek, G. (2015) Egypt: Criminal Court Gives Head of Muslim Brotherhood a Death Sentence. [Web Page] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-03-19/egypt-criminal-court-gives-head-of-muslim-brotherhood-a-death-sentence/.

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Sadek, George. Egypt: Criminal Court Gives Head of Muslim Brotherhood a Death Sentence. 2015. Web Page. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-03-19/egypt-criminal-court-gives-head-of-muslim-brotherhood-a-death-sentence/>.