Death Sentence for Former Muslim Brotherhood Leader in Egypt

A court in Egypt has sentenced former Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting leader, to death in connection with the case known in the media as the "Platform Events." The court also sentenced Mohamed Beltagy, Amr Zaki, Osama Yassin, Safwat Hegazy, Asem Abdel-Maqsid, and Mohamed Abd al-Maqsoud to death by hanging for their roles in the case. In September 2021, the court heard the referral order for the accused in the Platform Events case, where the Public Prosecution accused the defendants—from the first to the sixth—claiming that in July 2013, in the Second Police Station area of Nasr City, they assumed leadership roles in a group established in violation of the law, aiming to call for the suspension of constitutional and legal rulings, hindering state institutions and public authorities from performing their duties, violating the personal freedoms of citizens, and undermining the liberties and public rights guaranteed by the constitution and law, thereby causing harm to national unity and social peace. The first defendant was charged with leading the Brotherhood as the "Supreme Guide," while defendants two to six took on leadership roles as "members of the Guidance Bureau and the General Shura Council" of the group, which aimed to change the regime by force and attacked individuals and facilities of the armed forces, police, and public installations, employing terrorism as a means to achieve its goals.