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<p>The British Government is aware of 559 people who have been sentenced to death
in Egypt during 2014, including 529 by a court in Minya on 24 March. We are deeply
concerned by these sentences. We have raised this issue with the Egyptian government,
most recently during the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)'s meeting with Foreign
Minister Fahmy on 2 April. The Foreign Secretary asked the Egyptian government to
review these sentences as a matter of urgency and to ensure that the individuals'
human and legal rights were properly upheld. The Foreign Secretary also made a statement
on 24 March in which he expressed his concern over the sentences.</p><p>It is the
long-standing policy of the British Government to oppose the death penalty in all
circumstances.</p>
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