(AFP Photo)
The Muslim Brotherhood responded Sunday to a Minya court’s issuing of death sentences to 183 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members, calling the trial “a horrid, heinous crime unprecedented in history”.
In a statement released Sunday, the Brotherhood said that the “murderous judiciary” lost its reputation and honour, claiming that the “murderous military and its brutal tools” are sending “unspeakable messages” to the Egyptian people.
“You have no right to life, freedom or justice… The murderer’s dictatorship is determined to tread a path of bloodshed and oppression, mouth-muzzling, violence and repression” the statement said.
The statement assured that the “people’s revolution” will continue in spite of recent court rulings that have sentenced hundreds of alleged members to death. Most of those sentenced have been given harsh punishments in response to crimes allegedly committed against military and security forces in the aftermath of the government’s forced dispersal of two pro-Morsi sit-ins in August 2013.
The Brotherhood accuses authorities of using harsh sentences to quell opposition to a popular revolution. “The putschist traitors, of the military, the judiciary, the police, the media and others, are mistaken if they think these repressive measures could kill the revolution or weaken its selfless patriotic men and women. Indeed, these barbaric tactics will only fan the fire of the revolution and help spread its flames farther across Egypt.”
“[Revolutionaries] will not show forgiveness to murderers, criminals or traitors. All those involved in these crimes will pay dearly when the time for revolutionary retribution comes, very soon,” the statement said. “The hour of salvation is near, and woe to those who killed the innocent, dealt injustice, deceived the people or acted in treacherous traitorous ways.”
The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, ruled a terrorist organisation after a car bomb ripped through the Mansoura security directorate on 24 December, frequently calls for mass protests against what it calls a military coup, led by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Al-Sisi, who ran on a platform of security and stability, has claimed mass support for the government’s crackdown on the Brotherhood. Independent monitoring group Wiki Thawra has said that over 41,000 people have been arrested or tried since Mohamed Morsi’s 3 July ouster.
