Egypt: Prominent Militant Sentenced to Death

An Egyptian court has sentenced a prominent Islamist militant, along with 36 others, to death for carrying out several terror attacks.

Per reports, Hisham Ashmawy is a former army officer who served in Egypt’s special forces before his dismissal in 2011. Prior to his dismissal, he had undergone a military trial, in which he was accused of spreading radical Islamic ideas.

Along with 36 other militants, Ashmawy carried out 54 assassinations of Egyptian police officials, soldiers and citizens. They also carried out acts of bombing and vandalism in, and around the northeastern African country.

In 2013, the group notably targetted the country’s then-interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, in an attempted suicide car bombing.

Although Ibrahim survived, approximately 20 policemen and civilians were wounded.

In October 2018, the Libyan National Army confirmed its capture of Ashmawy and his accomplices, before handing them over to the Egyptian authorities.

Appearing in the Cairo criminal court on Monday, 2 March, Ashmawy and his accomplices were sentenced to hang for their crimes. However, they can still challenge the sentences at Egypt’s Court of Cassation.

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