Egypt executes terrorist Hisham Ashmawi

CAIRO - 4 March 2020: Terrorist Hisham Ashmawi was executed on Wednesday over terrorism related crimes.

The ex-special forces officer turned militant was convicted in many terror attacks, including the 2013 assassination bid against then interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim.

Ashmawy has been involved in the assassination of top prosecutor Hisham Barakat and other attacks including Al-Wahat terror assault, which led to the death of 16 Egyptian security personnel.

He was also found guilty for attempting to assassinate former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim, plotting to target ships crossing the Suez Canal, as well as helping a member of the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis terrorist group escape from a government hospital in Ismailia.

In this case, there are 208 defendants who are charged with 54 crimes that consist of assassinations of policemen, attempted murder of former Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, and bombings of security institutions’ buildings.

Ashmawi was a former army officer and was captured in Libya late in 2018 by forces of the Libyan National Army.

Earlier in November, a military court sentenced Ashmawi to death for his participation in scores of attacks on government targets. In recent years, he has been considered the country’s most wanted terrorist for his intelligence expertise.