Press Release
The “Committee for Justice” (CFJ) has monitored the actions of the First Terrorism Circuit of the Supreme State Security Court, convened at the Badr Courthouse Complex. Presided over by Judge Mohamed Saeed El-Sherbini, with Judges Gharib Mohamed Metwally, Mahmoud Zidan, and Mohamed Nabil, the court issued a death sentence by hanging against Hamdi Sanad El-Hamad Mohamed Badawi (31 years old), the defendant in case No. 6482 of 2022 (Shorouk Criminal Court), known in the media as the “Ismailia Province Cell” case. Badawi holds a law degree and works as a nursing assistant.
In addition to sentencing Badawi, the court imposed a life sentence on one defendant, sentenced three others to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment, and ordered them to pay legal expenses. The court also placed the convicted individuals under police supervision for five years after the completion of their sentences. Furthermore, it mandated that they attend rehabilitation courses for five years and added their names to the list of terrorist entities.
CFJ rejects the death sentence, arguing that it was issued by an exceptional court operating under the “Anti-Terrorism Law,” a law deemed extraordinary. The committee asserts that the trial lacked the basic elements of a fair trial as recognized by international and United Nations standards. CFJ demands the suspension of the death sentence and that the defendant be retried before a regular court. CFJ also calls for the suspension of the sentences imposed on the other defendants and their retrial in a court that meets the minimum standards for a fair trial.
CFJ further urges Egypt to heed the calls from international organizations to abolish the death penalty and replace it with alternative, lighter sentences. CFJ also calls on the international community and UN mechanisms to monitor the situation in Egypt and pressure the authorities to halt political executions and the ongoing loss of life, stressing the need to provide remedies for the families of those executed under such trials.