Egypt sentences 28 to death over prosecutor killing

Published
3

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 28 people to death for their involvement in the killing of a top prosecutor two years ago, security and judicial officials said.

Hisham Barakat was killed in 2015 when a car bomb struck his convoy in Cairo after militants call for attacks on the judiciary to avenge a crackdown on them.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but police later said they had arrested the perpetrators, charging they were members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The court also sentenced 15 defendants to life in prison in the same case, while a further eight received 15 years, and 15 others were handed 10 years, the officials said.

The death sentences have already been approved by the mufti, Egypt's official interpreter of Islamic law, whose opinion is legally required but not binding. The rulings can still be appealed.

Egyptian courts have sentenced hundreds of Morsi supporters to death since the military overthrow his government, but many have appealed and won new trials. Morsi and other top figures of his Muslim Brotherhood have also faced trial.

Opinion

Editorial

Without consequence
02 Nov, 2026

Without consequence

JOURNALISTS today face ever more sophisticated threats, while those who target them continue to walk free. From ...
Climate diagnosis
02 Nov, 2026

Climate diagnosis

THE Lancet Countdown’s latest findings should change how Pakistan thinks about illness as much as how it thinks...
Fighting harassment
02 Nov, 2026

Fighting harassment

WORKPLACE harassment is often narrowly defined as sexual misconduct. A resolution passed by the National Assembly on...
Cost of provinces
Updated 01 Nov, 2026

Cost of provinces

Political parties demanding new provinces must explain how they intend to pay for them and what improvements citizens can expect.
Exchange hack
01 Nov, 2026

Exchange hack

ON Thursday, the largest cryptocurrency heist in history saw some $6.3bn drained from exchange platform Binance’s...
Cyber safety
Updated 01 Nov, 2026

Cyber safety

The state of freedom of expression in Pakistan is already quite poor, so any further attempts to clamp down on free speech must be resisted.