Egypt Court Sentences 183 Muslim Brotherhood Supporters to Death

An Egyptian court sentenced 183 members of the Muslim Brotherhood political party to death this week, indicating a continued crackdown on religious and political dissidence in the North African country.

According to Reuters, the men were convicted of killing 16 police officers in Kardasa in August 2013 during the period of civil unrest that following the ousting of then-president Mohamed Morsi.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a statement to Reuters that this recent court case and those similar to it prove that Egypt's legal system focuses on silencing those who oppose the government.

"Today's death sentences are yet another example of the bias of the Egyptian criminal justice system," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International, told the media outlet.

"These verdicts and sentences must be quashed and all of those convicted should be given a trial that meets international standards of fairness and excludes the death penalty."

Sahraoui added in his statement that it would be wrong to deliver the death penalty "when there are serious doubts hanging over the fairness of the trial," adding that the mass trial has "outrageously flouted" international law.

The United Nations has also decried the recent mass trials against Muslim Brotherhood supporters as "unprecedented."

According to the Daily News Egypt, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has now decided to ban European-led television channels affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The political party is banned in the country.