The trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, will begin on 3 August. The three men are accused of corruption, embezzlement and murder in connection with the violence that occurred during the street demonstrations that led to the fall of the regime on 11 February. According to statements of the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice El-Gendy, if they will be found guilty they might be sentenced to the capital punishment, which in Egypt is practiced by hanging.
In this delicate phase of transition towards democracy, under the interim rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, several former ministers and prominent figures of the old ruling class are under investigation or indicted under less than transparent procedures and the lack of the necessary ‘certainty’ that must characterize the law. Moreover, the possibility of capital punishment makes even more troubling the way in which the army and the judiciary are managing the ‘transitional justice’.
The organisations “No Peace Without Justice” and “Hands off Cain”, considering that democracy can not be based on impunity but neither on revenge and murder of state, have undertaken a dialogue with Egyptian non-governmental organizations and civil society to support the Egyptian democratic process and help the Egyptian interim government to create the means necessary to ensure that the people indicted and investigated enjoy the basic human rights, including a fair and transparent trial that excludes the capital punishment.
In this regard, the Radical MP Elisabetta Zamparutti, treasurer of “Hands off Cain”, has tabled at the Italian Parliament a urgent question to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Franco Frattini, asking the Italian Government to make public all information relating to the trials in Cairo in its possession and which kind of initiatives it intends to develop in order to prevent that the ‘new Egypt’ will raise from the blood of the former dictator.
For more information contact Sabrina Gasparrini: +393494785367 email: sgasparrini@npwj.org
