EGYPT: HISHAM ASHMAWI’S TOP AIDE, 2 OTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
October 26, 2021: An Egyptian court sentenced on 25 October 2021 terrorist Bahaa Kishk, the right-hand man of Hisham Ashmawy who was executed in Egypt last year, and two fugitives to death over terrorism charges. The ruling was issued after the country's top Muslim legal authority consented to the punishment. The verdict is not final and can be appealed. In July, the court referred preliminary death sentences against the defendants to the grand mufti, whose opinion is legally required in death penalty cases but is not binding. The prosecution charged the defendants with leading Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Mourabitoun group along with Ashmawy and financing a terrorist organisation with arms, ammunition, and explosives. Kishk, who was arrested in Libya and extradited to Egypt, was considered the right-hand man of Ashmawy, who was also captured in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in late 2018. Ashmawy, described as the country's most dangerous terrorist, was handed over to Egypt by forces loyal to Commander Khalifa Haftar in May 2019. Ashmawy was handed two death sentences after being convicted of orchestrating several deadly high-profile attacks against security forces. He was executed by hanging in March 2020. (Source: Ahram, 25/10/2021)
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