Capital punishment in Egypt

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Capital punishment in Egypt can be traced back to the ancient Egyptian civilization, where the death penalty was applied for those who broke the Ma'at, a law which forbade crimes such as murder, theft, sacrilege, attempts on the Pharaoh and spying. It was applied through beheading, sacrifice, or drowning in the Nile in a closed sack. According to Amnesty International, current death penalties in Egypt is reserved for crimes punishable by death for offences under the "so-called "anti-terrorism" legislation, as well as "premeditated murder, rape and drug related offences."^[1] There are currently two methods of execution in Egypt. The first and more commonly used is hanging by a rope (the gallows) and this is used for all types of "civilian" criminals. The other one is shooting by firearms, which is specific for soldiers and any mililary personnel that commits capital crimes. In addition to the above capital crimes, capital punishmend can also be applied if the prisoner was convicted with high treason.