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              Egypt Opens Second Mass Trial of Brotherhood Members

   An Egyptian court has opened the trial of nearly 700 Muslim Brotherhood
   members, including the group`s top leader.
   The trial Tuesday in Minya comes a day after the court sentenced 529
   Brotherhood members to death on charges that include the murder of a
   police officer, attacking a police station and other acts of violence.
   That first trial took just two days, drawing international criticism
   over whether the proceedings were fair.
   Saba Mahmoud, associate professor of anthropology at the University of
   California at Berkeley, told VOA on Tuesday that there is no due
   process in Egypt, and called the sentencing "ridiculous."
   "You can take even perhaps elements from that crowd who may have broken
   the law and so on, but to actually sentence close to 530 people, 529 to
   be precise, nowhere can be defended legally. Most of the people who
   have been arrested are being tried in military courts and security
   courts under the emergency law in the country. They`re not being given
   a fair trial."
   State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States was
   "deeply concerned" and "pretty shocked" after Monday`s decision.
   "Obviously the defendants can appeal, but it simply does not seem
   possible that a fair review of evidence and testimony, consistent with
   international standards, could be accomplished with over 529 defendants
   in a two-day trial. It sort of defies logic."
   She said the U.S. has continued to urge Egypt to make sure detainees
   are given fair proceedings, and that politically motivated judicial
   actions only serve to reverse Egypt`s democratic transition.
   Mahmoud told VOA the Egyptian military`s violations of civil liberties
   have not pushed the U.S. government to say such behavior must stop or
   else it will withdraw aid.
   "I think the State Department reaction throughout this process has been
   completely muted. We must remember that Egypt is the second largest
   recipient of us military and socioeconomic aid after Israel in the
   region. And the United States has an enormous influence in how Egyptian
   politics is conducted. Ever since the overthrow of the Morsi
   government, the writing has been on the wall."
   The charges in the two trials are related to clashes in Minya last
   August. That violence erupted after security forces in Cairo broke up
   two Brotherhood protest camps, leaving hundreds of people dead.
   They were protesting the army`s ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, a
   Brotherhood member who has been in custody since he was removed from
   office in July and is facing several trials himself.
   Egypt`s interim authorities have cracked down on the Brotherhood,
   labeling it a terrorist group and arresting many of its leaders.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-opens-second-mass-trial-of-brot
   herhood-members/1878506.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-opens-second-mass-trial-of-brotherhood-members/1878506.html