Johannesburg - Human rights organisations have condemned Egypt's continued execution of death sentences against civilians through military and anti-terrorism trials, and demanded respect for law and human rights.
In a Friday press release, a number of organisations, under the umbrella Committee for Justice (CFJ) group, condemned Tuesday's execution of Egyptian Tayseer Odeh Suleiman after he was convicted in Ismalia's military court in what they said was a flawed trial inconsistent with international legal and human rights standards.
Suleiman, 25, was hanged after the Supreme Military Court of Appeals rejected the defence put foward by his lawyer without explaining the reasons behind the rejection.
Suleiman's execution came two weeks after 13 human rights organisations sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, asking them to intervene directly with Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi and the Egyptian government to declare a moratorium on any new death penalty cases and to ensure future defendents get a fair trial.
CFJ confirmed that there had been an unprecedented increase in the implementation of death sentences in Egypt, based on illegal proceedings, with 26 people executed between the end of December last year and the present.
CFJ further asserted that the reason for the implementation of the death penalties "under the guise of combating terrorism" were misleading and in violation of basic standards of a fair trial indicating significant flaws in Egypt's judicial process.
The signatories further asserted that the measures taken by the Egyptian Government to combat terrorism and protect human rights were incompatible.