2 people executed in Ismailia after rejection of appeal by military court

Egyptian authorities executed two people on Thursday who were sentenced to death in Ismailia, after their appeal was rejected by the Supreme Military Appeals Court, according to the No to Military Trials for Civilians campaign.

Suleiman Rabie and Rabhy Hussein were sentenced to death in February by a military court in Ismailia for the deaths of two policemen and possession of weapons.

The families of Rabie and Hussein were notified that their death sentences had been carried out on Thursday, the day they were executed, the No to Military Trials campaign reported.

Authorities have executed 27 people since late December, amid a spike in the number of capital punishments carried out in recent years, and conversations in civil society surrounding the use of the death penalty in Egypt.

Most of the executions were in relation to political violence cases, except four, which were in criminal cases, Mada Masr reported.

The office of the UN High Commissioner demanded Egypt halts executions until investigations into allegations of unfair trials have concluded, in a January statement.

Thirteen Egyptian human rights organizations sent a petition to the UN Secretary General, requesting his immediate intervention to prevent the execution of 26 death sentences in trials they referred to as “unfair” due to political bias or lack of due process.