Egyptian authorities have executed nine men convicted for the 2015 killing of the country’s attorney-general, Hisham Barakat.
According to Egyptian newspaper., El Watan, the men were among a
group of 28 who were sentenced to death in the case in 2017. Barakat was
killed in a car bomb attack on his convoy in the capital, Cairo.
Egypt blamed the Muslim Brotherhood and Gaza-based Hamas militants
for the operation. Both groups denied having a role. Rights group
Amnesty International had appealed on Tuesday for authorities to halt
the executions, citing testimony by the defendants that they had been
secretly detained and tortured into confessing.
El Watan newspaper said the executions were carried out on Wednesday
morning. The newspapers gave the names of the executed as Ahmad Taha,
Abu Alqasim Ahmed, Ahmed Jamal Hijazi, Mahmoud Al Ahmadi, Abu Bakr Al
Sayed, Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, Ahmed Mohammed, Ahmed Mahrous Sayed and
Islam Mohammed.
The newspaper also published the confessions of the men about their
involvement in the assassination of Barakat by bombing. Their execution
followed six others carried out earlier this month. Three of those were
convicted over the killing of a police office in September 2013, and
three over the killing of a judge’s son the following year
President Sisi, who was elected president in 2014 and re-elected last
year, says he is working to bring stability and security to Egypt
following the turmoil of the 2011 uprising.
