“We won”t wait on this. “You protect human rights by fighting terrorism”, he said.
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The explosion came as Egypt was reeling from the assassination of Hisham Barakat, the country’s top judicial official.
The attack, as Barakat was en route to his office, was a blow to ex- army chief Sisi, who won elections after ousting Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, 2013. El-Sissi was elected to the presidency last May.
The Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist group, accused of fueling an insurgency by Islamic militants who have stepped up a campaign of violence. The Brotherhood denies the allegation, accusing the government of trying to justify its crackdown on the group.
He promised to unveil changes within days to allow death sentences to be implemented as soon as possible. But they still can appeal the sentences and face multiple other trials – prompting some el-Sissi supporters to complain the process is too slow. El-Sissi’s comments suggested he may try to speed it up.
On Tuesday, at least three people were killed and others wounded when explosives went off in a vehicle near a police station in Cairo’s western suburb of 6th of October City, security sources said.
At Barakat’s funeral, el-Sissi led hundreds of state officials and military men who walked in unison as wreaths were laid.
Authorities and pro-government TV networks blamed the Brotherhood for Barakat’s killing, broadly accusing it of orchestrating violence.
Barakat’s motorcade was struck by a massive auto bomb Monday in the Heliopolis neighborhood.
Television programs suspended all other broadcasts until 7 p.m. Tuesday to show footage of the funeral, images of Monday’s bombing and its aftermath, and religious blessings for Barakat.
“Barakat”s funeral took place under extremely tight security, and the atmosphere across the capital was tense, with armored personnel carriers dotting streets and squares.
“This is not any responsible state should ever behave once it is subjected to these kinds of attacks”, he said, calling on Sisi to reach a “political settlement” with the opposition.
Although hundreds of people have been sentenced to death by courts in Egypt since the overthrow of Mr Morsi – many of them after summary mass trials which the United Nations said were “rife with procedural irregularities” – only seven have been executed, according to the AFP news agency.
“During the ex-military chief”s time in power, Egyptian security forces have battled a violent Islamist insurgency in the rugged Sinai Peninsula, with hundreds of police and soldiers killed.
Egypt’s president has vowed to enact legal reforms so death sentences can be enforced more swiftly, a day after the assassination of the public prosecutor.
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“This killing is a wake-up call for Egypt’s leaders, who should begin to unwind the country’s worsening cycle of violence by returning to the rule of law and halting the crackdown that has eroded basic freedoms rather than speeding it up”.
