Court orders execution of 12 Islamists for killing police officer

A court issued death sentences on Wednesday against 12 defendants accused of killing a senior police officer in the Kerdasa neighborhood of Giza last September, charging them with affiliation to a terrorist group.

Seven of these defendants were present at Giza’s Criminal Court for the hearing of the verdict, while another five were sentenced in absentia.

The death sentences have been referred to Egypt’s grand mufti — the country’s chief religious cleric — for his opinion, Reuters reported. The mufti’s opinion is not binding, however.

The officer killed was Major General Nabil Farrag, who was shot dead on September 19. Another ten policemen at Kerdasa station were reportedly injured by armed assailants on the same day.

According to the Egyptian State Information Service portal, “Farrag was killed by terrorists who were deployed on the rooftops of schools and mosques in Kerdasa.”

He was killed during a security operation targeting Islamists and other supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi based in the neighborhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi was ousted on July 3 by the military under the command of former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Two pro-Morsi protest camps — at Rabea al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda — were forcefully dispersed on August 14, leading to the deaths of several hundreds of Islamists.

In reaction to the fatal security crackdowns, armed elements — reported in Egypt’s mainstream media to be Islamist “terrorists” — attacked Kerdasa police station and killed (between 11 and 14) policemen on August 14.

The killings were followed by a security operation in Kerdasa on September 19, leading to the arrest of more than 100 suspected Islamists.

It was during the course of this crackdown that the major general was shot dead at the police station.

A further 11 defendants accused of lesser criminal charges — reported to have been perpetrated in Kerdasa — are awaiting a verdict from Giza Criminal Court on August 8. The charges they are facing include: Possession of unlicensed firearms, resisting authorities, harming national security, and attacks on churches.

Egyptian courts have recently sentenced well over 1,200 Islamists and Morsi supporters to death this year. This figure may render Egypt the state with the greatest number of death sentences issued worldwide — second only to China, which does not issue official figures regarding capital punishment.