Morsi death sentence protested by Egyptians in New York

NEW YORK

 Egyptians in New York held a rally Friday to protest recent death sentences handed down to the country's only democratically elected president and more than 100 others.

Roughly 100 protesters gathered in front of Egypt's Consulate General in New York, seeking justice against what they call a "politically-motivated" and "flawed" trial.

Chanting slogans like "Sisi killer" and "Free Egypt," many of the protesters wore red-colored death row inmate uniforms used in Egypt's prisons.

A Cairo court delivered death sentences to ousted President Mohammed Morsi and 121 other defendants on jailbreak charges last week, sending a notice to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s highest religious authority, to submit his opinion on the matter.

Protester Bahjat Saber said the government's fierce crackdown on Morsi supporters would never intimidate those opposing the July 2013 coup led by Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"My message to the Sisi regime is that we will never stop until we get the regime down, until we get our president back," he said.

The military-backed authorities in Egypt have launched a massive crackdown on Morsi supporters since his ouster, with scores of defendants, generally opposition members, handed long-term prison sentences or the death penalty. Morsi's now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has had its assets seized, and many of its members placed on trial. 

Turan Cardak, one of several Turkish participants in Friday's rally, said the international community's silence about the death sentences in Egypt was telling.

"People are facing capital punishment in Egypt. Why are the U.S. and European governments so silent on this? I believe this is double standard," he said.