Dr Maha Azzam, Head of Egyptian Revolutionary Council said, “the international community must act now – democratic governments have failed the people of Egypt by supporting a military regime that kills its own people and now has passed a death sentence against the first democratically elected President of Egypt in a farcical trial that has no legitimacy.’
Listed below are the incontrovertible facts:
– President Morsi was the first president to be elected by the only fair and free elections in Egyptian history.
– His party was elected as the majority party in the only free and fair elections in Egypt’s history.
– During his short period in power, he was thwarted by the military, the judiciary and the oligarchs, but he maintained a free press and allowed a diversity of opinion.
– He was removed from power by force of arms.
– There are now over 40,000 political dissidents in prison in Egypt, several thousand peaceful protestors have been murdered since the coup; torture and rape have become commonplace.
– There is now neither freedom of assembly nor freedom of expression under General Sisi.
The sentencing of President Morsi to death by execution by the military regime through its corrupt judiciary, and the silence of the international community to it will only further anger and dismay millions throughout the world as to the double standards of governments.
The acquiescence, so far, of most of the governments of the developed world to the narrative of the military and their oligarch backers in Egypt in aborting the country’s attempt at a democratic system of government is both an abrogation of moral duty and politically counterproductive. It will play into the narrative of those who claim that governments prefer, for their self interest, that the Middle East to be governed by autocracies and that these governments have no regard whatsoever for the rights of the citizens of the region. Moreover, the farcical nature of the charges will play into the narrative of those who already reject the model of western jurisprudence and democratic government.
The death sentence handed down to President Morsi on the basis of trumped-up farcical charges, conducted by a corrupt judiciary in what amounted to a parody of a trial will neither consolidate General Sisi’s rule, nor bring stability to the region. On the contrary, it will send a clear and unambiguous message to the 370 million people of the region that neither their rulers nor western governments will allow them to progress peacefully to a democratic system. Inevitably, this will make alternative ideologies more attractive and create ever increasing instability that might spill over into the region and beyond. Silence towards this travesty of justice by western regimes who claim to believe in democracy and the principles of human rights would mark them as nothing short of hypocrites and neither history nor the people of the region will forgive such an abrogation of moral responsibility.
We therefore call on all governments on the basis of moral integrity and human decency, as well as that of political expediency, to put pressure on General Sisi and his military regime to immediately and unconditionally free President Morsi.
Muslim Brotherhood
http://www.ikhwanweb.com
