A criminal court sitting in Egypt has today sentenced a former Egyptian military officer alongside 36 others to death, for their alleged responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks in the country.
The ex officer who defected from the army and joined the jihadists and his 36 men counterpart were convicted of 54 charges after carrying out several terror attacks including assassination of policemen.
“Hisham Ashmawi was accused of carrying out bombings that targeted the Italian consulate in Cairo and the national security headquarters in north of Cairo, as well as attempting to assassination the public prosecutor of the state security prosecution,” said local media.
“Ashmawi was also charged with establishing and leading a terrorist group, Al Murabitoon, a jihadi group which is loyal to Al –Qaeda and which Ashmawi founded after he broke ranks with the iss-affiliate Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis. He is accused of espionage for with a foreign entity, namely the Palestinian Hamas movement, sabotage of state installations, and premeditated murder,” the media added.
The Egyptian authorities accused Ashmawi and the other defendants of belonging to Al- Murabitoun militant group and attacking a security checkpoint in Frafra (west of the capital Cairo) in July 2014. The attack killed 28 army personnel, including two officers.
The ruling comes after the defendants’ case was referred to Grand Mufti, Egypt’s highest Islamic religious authority.
