By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, Mar 31, 2010 (IPS) - Egyptian courts are handing down death sentences with "alarming frequency" as the state attempts to use capital punishment to stem rising crime rates.
Over 269 death sentences were imposed in 2009, up from 86 the previous year. Rights groups say the courts appear to be acting under government pressure to send a strong message to the public.
"We've haven't seen anything like this in over 200 years," says Nasser Amin, director of the Cairo-based Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession. "The numbers are alarming. In one case last year 24 people were sentenced to hang, and in another a judge handed down 10 death sentences."
Egypt has expanded its application of capital punishment since President Hosni Mubarak took office in 1981. Capital offences, previously confined to premeditated murder and crimes against the state, now number over 40 and include drug trafficking, rape and arson......"
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