'Turkey to bring up Egypt executions with Muslim bloc'

By Ali Kemal Akan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will bring the issue of recent state executions in Egypt to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said a senior Turkish lawmaker on Wednesday.

“We will mention the executions in Egypt, the human right violations in Islamic countries, and especially in monarchical regimes,” at the annual meeting of the Parliamentary Union of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (PUOIC), said Orhan Atalay, a deputy who represents Turkey at the body.

Atalay added that they would also carry the issue of Egypt’s "brutal" executions to other international platforms.

"Those who work on human rights in the international arena, whether civilians or officials, should consider this incident," said Atalay, a lawmaker from eastern Ardahan province.

He said the OIC parliamentary body would discuss the executions as a serious topic, he added.

Last week Egyptian authorities executed nine young men convicted of assassinating an Egyptian prosecutor-general in 2015 in a car bombing.

Amnesty International said the men were convicted on terrorism charges after "grossly unfair trials" marred by torture.

The death sentences were carried out despite calls by numerous international rights groups for a stay of execution.

Earlier this month, Egyptian authorities executed another six people in two separate cases for the murder of a judge’s son and a senior police officer.

Egypt has remained beset by violence and turmoil since the army deposed Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, in a 2013 coup.