Egyptian prison authorities Wednesday executed by hanging nine members of the Muslim Brotherhood for their alleged involvement in the car bomb attack that killed the country’s top prosecutor Hisham Barakat in 2015. Egyptian authorities blamed the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian movement, Hamas, for the attack. Those already executed include three people sentenced for the murder of a senior police officer in Cairo in 2013. Since 2013, thousands of members of the banned movement have received lengthy prison sentences in mass trials. President al-Sisi in 2013 removed Islamist and first elected Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi and cracked down on his movement.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 21, 2019 14:15 UTC