Egypt is facing international criticism after it upheld the death sentence against the country’s first freely elected leader, deposed president Mohamed Morsi.
The Muslim Brotherhood called the trial a “sham” and urged Egyptians to come out for a “popular uprising” on Friday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the verdicts against Morsi the Muslim Brotherhood leader as “a massacre of law and basic rights.”
“We call on the international community to act to withdraw these death sentences, given under the instructions of the coup regime, and to put an end to this path which could seriously endanger the peace of Egyptian society,” Al Jazeera reported.
The US, Egypt’s military ally, called the verdict “deeply troubling” and “politically motivated.”
United Nations secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also slammed the decision. “The UN is against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. Such verdicts may well have a negative impact on the prospects for long-term stability in Egypt.”
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement: “The death penalty represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. These sentences and procedures are in breach of Egypt’s obligations under international law.”
The statements came after a Cairo court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences issued for the alleged plotting of jailbreaks and attacks on police during the 2011 revolution.
Earlier on Tuesday, the same court sentenced Morsi to life in prison on charges of spying for foreign powers.
Then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ousted Morsi on July 3, 2013, and since then has overseen a sweeping crackdown against his supporters. The crackdown has left hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters dead and thousands jailed.
