(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The European Union denounced yesterday the death sentence handed down against Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Mursi and at least 100 others, noting the penalty stemmed from a flawed trial.
"The court decision to seek the death penalty... was taken at the end of a mass trial that was not in line with Egypt's obligations under international law," said the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini in a statement.
She added that Egypt has to guarantee defendants' rights to a fair trial and to an independent investigation. Her statement said the EU believes the sentence will be revised upon appeal.
"The EU opposes capital punishment under all circumstances," Mogherini said. "The death penalty is cruel and inhumane."
The United States expressed alarm yesterday at death sentences for Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Mursi and dozens of others, a verdict experts called a declaration of "total war" on his Muslim Brotherhood. Mursi was among more than 100 defendants ordered by a court on Saturday to face the death penalty for their role in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising.
He ruled for only a year before mass protests spurred then-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to overthrow him in July 2013. Washington expressed concern over Saturday's verdict, saying it has "consistently spoken out against the practice of mass trials and sentences". "We continue to stress the need for due process and individualised judicial processes for all Egyptians in the interests of justice," a State Department official said.
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