Maghreb Edition

Egyptian court sentences 22 Jihadists to death by hangingF

Posted On 25 November 2021

Number of times this article was read : 604
An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced to death by hanging 22 Islamist militants for 54 attacks including the attempted assassination of a former interior minister, a judicial source told AFP.    The men were found guilty of committing 54 “terrorist operations” across Egypt, including the murder of a senior police officer as well as trying to kill former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim.  Executions in Egypt for civilians are carried out by hanging. Those sentenced to death include a former police officer, and the verdicts cannot be appealed.  The 22 convicted were found guilty of being members of the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group, which pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2014. The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appeals court, also upheld prison sentences of 118 others in the same case, ranging from terms of several years to life imprisonment.
Egypt has for years been fighting a bitter insurgency in North Sinai that escalated after the army’s 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. In February 2018, the army and police launched a nationwide operation against militants focused on North Sinai.  Around 1,073 suspected militants and dozens of security personnel have been killed since the start of operations, according to official figures.
Earlier this month, Egypt agreed with Israel to boost its troop numbers around the border town of Rafah in order to quell IS militants.  Ansar Beit al-Maqdis fighters in Sinai were led by Hisham al-Ashmawy, an ex-special forces officer.  Ashmawy — once dubbed Egypt’s “most wanted man” — split from the militants after they switched allegiance from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State group.
In 2018, Ashmawy was captured in the eastern Libya city of Derna, and extradited to Cairo. He had been on trial with the 22 men sentenced on Thursday, but had already been found guilty, and was executed in March 2020. Egypt, the most populous Arab country, recorded the third most executions in the world —  behind China and Iran according to Amnesty International. In 2020, Egyptian authorities executed at least 107 people, Amnesty said.
AFP

Subscribe to Urgent Notifications and Newsletter

Most Recent Stories from the Region

North African Countries Among World’s Cheapest for Gasoline, Lead Global Rankings$

North African countries currently rank among the cheapest places in the world to buy gasoline, according to international price data published in late April 2026. The global average pump price for gasoline stood at around $1.49 per liter, while several North African producers were charging less than half that level. Libya, Algeria and Egypt all sit among the most affordable markets globally — though two non-African countries, Venezuela and Iran, rank between Libya and the rest of the African group in the worldwide table.

Libya: A drifting Russian gas tanker threatens the Mediterranean$

Since March 3, 2026, the Russian LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz, 277 meters long, has been drifting off the Libyan coast. Loaded with 62,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), 900 tons of diesel, and 450 tons of heavy fuel oil, it poses the risk of an environmental disaster for the Mediterranean basin. Amid repeated failures to tow the vessel, accusations of Ukrainian sabotage, and the powerlessness of Libyan authorities, the Mediterranean is on high alert.

Written by The North Africa Journal

The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.