RIGHTS GROUPS CONDEMN 75 DEATH SENTENCES

CAIRO Nearly a dozen rights groups on Tuesday condemned the passing of death sentences by an Egyptian court against 75 people, including top leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

A statement by the 11 organizations rejected the trial’s proceedings, saying they exemplified the “degraded standards of fairness, impartiality and independence that define Egypt’s dysfunctional judiciary.” They also demanded an immediate end to capital punishment and a moratorium on executions.

The statement was the latest in a flurry of condemnations by rights groups, as well as the UN human rights commission, of Saturday’s verdicts. The case involves 739 defendants who faced charges ranging from murder and damaging property to incitement of violence.

The case is rooted in a 2013 protest by supporters of Mohammed Morsi, a stalwart of the Brotherhood whose one-year rule of Egypt ended when the military, then led by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, ousted him.

Amnesty International also blasted the death sentences just hours after they were passed, describing the trial as “disgraceful.” A day later, Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights commissioner, warned that it would be an “irreversible miscarriage of justice” if the death sentences were carried out.