Amnesty has condemned the sharp rise in the use of the death penalty in Egypt, accusing authorities of embarking on a “horrifying execution spree.” Amnesty confirmed that the Egyptian regime executed at least 57 people in October and November alone, nearly double the number recorded in the whole of 2019.

The Egyptian regime has not commented on the report. Last month, Amnesty condemned what it called the “chilling escalation” of a government crackdown on Egypt’s civil society.

Human rights groups say dozens of activists have been arrested or subjected to travel bans and asset freezes under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi since he led the military’s overthrow of his democratically elected predecessor, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013 following protests against his rule. Al-Sisi repeats allegations that there are no political prisoners in Egypt and that security and stability in the country are paramount, and all those in prisons are criminals.

Amnesty’s regional research and advocacy director Philip Luther said in the report that there had been “well-documented and systematic breaches of fair trial rights in Egypt, with courts often relying on torture-tainted confessions.”