Two journalists from television network Al Jazeera were among six people sentenced to death in Egypt on Saturday for allegedly leaking national security documents to Qatar during the rule of President Mohammed Morsi. Morsi, who was toppled by the Egyptian Army in 2013, was the top defendant in the case, and handed a life sentence. The court finalised its verdict on a total of 11 accused after consulting the country’s Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam. The case has been decried as a sham by political activists.
The two journalists included Ibrahim Helal, a former director of news at the Doha-based network, who had allegedly passed state secrets to Qatar. Helal said the case was fabricated and political, and that the verdict sought to “threaten all journalists inside and outside of Egypt”. The other Al Jazeera journalist who faces the death penalty is Alaa Sablan.
Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically elected leader. After his ouster, his political organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist group. He also faces a death sentence in a different case. Several other journalists working at news organisations linked to the Brotherhood were also given life terms or death sentences on Saturday. All of the sentences can be appealed in the country’s Court of Cassation.
According to AP, Amnesty International called the charges “ludicrous” and that the death penalty verdict should be dropped. Egypt is known for its brutal crackdown on journalists. In 2015, it was ranked 158 out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index.
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