Mass death sentences handed down by a court in Egypt’s Minya province to 529 alleged supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood were reached in a trial which lasted only three days without hearing a case for the defence. According to Ahram Online, defence lawyers’ request for a new panel of judges after raising concerns of bias were rejected by the court. The defendants were accused of murder of a police officer during violent protests which led to the storming of Matay police station in the aftermath of the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters in mass sit-ins in Cairo on 14 August 2013.

Human rights activists in Egypt and internationally condemned the verdict. Gamal Eid, director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said it was “a disaster” and “a scandal” for Egypt.

Amnesty International called the verdict “grotesque” and added in a statement

Egypt’s courts are quick to punish…