Egypt executes 15 people

Egyptian authorities have hanged 15 men at two prisons in the north of the country, as part of a controversial policy.The men were convicted for attacks committed in 2013 against the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula, that resulted in the deaths of soldiers and the destruction of vehicles.
The executed men were assumed to have carried out the deadly operations as part of the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).
"These death sentences and executions are a flagrant breach of international law. Trials in Egypt routinely fail to meet basic fair trial standards, and this is especially so in mass trials and military tribunals - as in this case," Maya Foa, director of international human rights organisation Reprieve, said in a statement delivered to Al Jazeera.
According to figures from Cornell University's Death Penalty Worldwide, a project designed to inform policymakers, judges, scholars and others, the years since Sisi took power have seen a sharp increase in executions. From 2011, the year former president Hosni Mubarak was deposed, to 2013, Egypt executed one person. Starting in 2014, Egypt executed 14 people. The following year, 22 more people were executed. At least 44 people were executed in 2016. Until Tuesday, Egypt had executed one person this year.
Sisi's government has also overseen an increase in crackdowns on journalists and the LGBTQ community in Egypt. Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been imprisoned there for over a year. Reporters Without Borders puts Egypt at place 161 out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom.