Erdogan has called for the release of Egyptian prisoners and says he will “never talk to someone like” Sisi
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has delivered a scathing critique of Egyptian coup president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after the latter executed 9 people this weekend.
Erdogan also said that he will “never speak to someone like” Sisi,[1] after hearing of the executions in which members of the Muslim Brotherhood were executed on Sunday.
“They killed nine young people recently. This is not something we can accept,” [1] Erdogan said in an interview, adding that “of course, we are going to be told that it is a decision of the judiciary, but there, justice, elections, all that, are nonsense. There is an authoritarian system, even totalitarian.” [1]
The Turkish president also said that the reason why he wouldn’t speak to Sisi is due to the actions undertaken by the Egyptian totalitarian, not only on Sunday, but ever since he took power in the 2013 military coup, which ousted Egypt’s democratically elected president in modern history, President Mohamed Morsi.
Also read: When Democracy Died in Egypt
Diplomatic ties between Ankara and Cairo collapsed in 2013 when the democratically elected government of Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, a move Erdogan has repeatedly denounced, apparently being the only world leader to criticise Sisi.
Following Morsi’s overthrow, Sisi banned the Muslim Brotherhood and labelled it a terrorist organisation and thousands of supporters and those against the coup were violently killed after protesting the takeover.
Since 2013 a vast number of Muslim Brotherhood members, including Morsi, supporters and those accused of being affiliated with the movement have been sentenced to death and executed after facing illegitimate mass trials that lasted a few days.
Erdogan has since then called for the release of prisoners and especially the Brotherhood prisoners, saying that if they aren’t released with a general amnesty then the Turkish government will not engage with their Egyptian counterparts.
The condemnation was particularly acute since those executed claimed they were tortured to obtain confessions. 25-year-old Abulqasim Youssef said before he was executed:
“I was blindfolded, hung on the door upside down for seven consecutive hours and electrocuted in sensitive areas of my body.”[2]
“Any person tortured in this way will confess to anything you want him to confess to,” said Erdogan in a Turkish interview.[3]
Erdogan has also criticised western nations for turning a blind eye to the mass human rights abuses taking place under the regime of Sisi, asking: “Where are the Westerners? Have you heard their voices?”
“On the other hand, when it comes to people imprisoned in our country (Turkey), they scream bloody murder.” [1]
Amnesty International have condemned the mass executions, arguing that such moves were politically motivated and that the trials were marred by allegations of torture and mistreatment.
“By carrying out the executions of these nine men today Egypt has demonstrated an absolute disregard for the right to life,”[4] Amnesty said in a statement, adding that “executing men who were convicted in trials marred by torture allegations is not justice but a testament to the magnitude of injustice in the country.”
According to Amnesty, the nine men were among 28 who were accused of killing the former public executor in 2015. The men, however, have said that they were forcibly disappeared and tortured into confessing a crime they never committed.
There has also been an outpouring of condemnation by commentators on social media and non-mainstream media outlets, sharing heart-wrenching scenes of the young men saying goodbye to loved ones before being executed, and scenes of their funerals.
When people are executed after being electrocuted into confessing the West pretend nothing happened. I do not wish to here about ‘human rights’ anymore. It is a lie. ‘Human rights’ are selective.
Photo: saying goodbye to his wife before #Sisi executes him #Egypt pic.twitter.com/Gt4r306MCF
— Ahmed Sewehli (@LibyanIntegrity) February 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/MohamedGhilan/status/1099065420303060999
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Source: www.islam21c.com
Notes:
[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/turkish-president-erdogan-denounces-egypt-sisi-executions-190224060937038.html
[2] https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-executions-unacceptable-says-erdogan
[3] https://youtu.be/dl9cE1rVyOg
[4] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/02/egypt-execution-of-nine-men-after-an-unfair-trial-a-monumental-disgrace/
