An Egyptian court has sentenced six people, including two Al-Jazeera employees, to death for allegedly passing documents related to national security to Qatar and the Doha-based TV network during the rule of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. Seven of the defendants out of eleven are in custody.
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He pointed that the issuance of such a verdict is not surprising after the death and life sentences issd by Egyptian courts in the last two years and abolished by the Egyptian Court of Cassation. Morsi’s secretary Amin el-Sirady received a life sentence. “Its misleading claims are at odds with Qatari policy towards its neighbouring states, including Egypt”, said a spokesman for the Qatar foreign ministry. That death sentence and another two – life and 20 years in prison – are under appeal. He was found guilty of membership in the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, but acquitted of espionage, alongside his aides.
The journalists are former director of news at Al Jazeera’s Arabic channel, Ibrahim Mohammed Helal; former Al Jazeera producer Alaa Omar Mohammed Sablan; and Asmaa Mohammed al-Khatib, a reporter for Rasd.
Sisi says the Brotherhood poses a serious threat to security despite the crackdown, which has weakened what was once Egypt’s most organised political group.
Morsi had appeared on Saturday wearing the red uniform of prisoners sentenced to death.
The two Al-Jazeera journalists were tried in absentia.
Extremists who have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group intensified their attacks following Morsi’s overthrow, killing hundreds of Egyptian policemen and soldiers, mainly in the north of the Sinai Peninsula.
Al-Jazeera “denounces, condemns, and entirely rejects the verdict”, a statement said.
The three other defendants sentenced to death on Saturday are documentary producer Ahmed Afify, EgyptAir cabin crew member Mohammed Keilany and academic Ahmed Ismail. They had been sentenced to three years in prison for airing what a court described as “false news” and coverage biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mostefa Souag, acting director general of Al Jazeera Media Network, noted that the country is “classified as one of the most risky places for journalists to work in”.
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On May 17, 2015, Morsi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood received death penalties over a mass jail break following the 2011 uprising that ousted the long time ruler Hosni Mubarak.
