Egyptian women get stiff jail terms
Up to 11 years in prison for young female protesters
CAIRO Egyptian authorities took a heavy hand Wednesday against both Islamist and secular opponents, handing down heavy prison sentences to a group of female supporters of the ousted Islamist president — including teenagers as young as 15 — and ordering the detention of two dozen secular activists, all for participating in protests.
The moves mark what critics say is a bolder determination by Egypt’s military-backed government to silence dissent, continuing a crackdown on Islamists since the military’s July 3 ouster of president Mohammed Morsi, while suppressing secular activists who supported his removal but also accuse the new leadership of restoring a system as autocratic as Morsi’s toppled predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
Images from the courtroom in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria showed the 21 young female defendants in white head scarves and white prison uniforms, handcuffed in the defendants’ cage. Among them were seven teenagers age 15 and 16, who were sentenced to prison terms until they turn 18. The rest — most aged 18 to 22 — were sentenced to 11 years in prison.
A day earlier brought other harsh scenes: Security forces beating and dragging female secular activists on the ground during a protest outside parliament. Police detained 14 women, then drove them in a van through the desert where they were dropped off on a remote road in the middle of the night in a move to intimidate them, several women said.
The crackdown is rearranging Egypt’s political map after months when authorities were focused on crippling Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. The resulting crisis threatens to fragment the coalition of liberal and secular groups that supported the military in its removal of Morsi.
At the centre of the crisis is the law issued this week banning any protests or public political gatherings of more than 10 people without a prior police permit, imposing stiff fines and jail terms for violators. Authorities say the law is needed to rein in continuing proMorsi protests.
In the face of the criticism, the cabinet issued a strongly worded statement saying it is determined to implement the law with “all firmness and force … so freedom doesn’t turn to chaos.” It linked it to a “war on terrorism” — pointing to the Brotherhood protests and violence by Islamic militants in Sinai.
“There are elements that want to spread domestic chaos in a desperate attempt to hurt the prestige of the state,” it said.
The group of Islamist women were arrested Oct. 31 while holding a demonstration in Alexandria demanding Morsi’s reinstatement and denouncing the military coup. They were convicted on multiple charges, including holding a demonstration, sabotage and using force.
Six other Brotherhood members were sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting the demonstrations.
“We thought they will get a month or something, but we were shocked with the 11 years,” defence lawyer alShimaa Ibrahim Saad said.
Haitham Abu-Khalil, an Islamist rights advocate, said the verdicts aimed to “break the protests and show that there is no red line.”
The prosecutor general’s office ordered 24 people arrested in Tuesday’s secular activists’ protest to be held for four days on possible charges of violating the protest law.