Two brothers, and leaders, of an Egyptian drug gang were hanged Sunday for kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons.
Back in early 2004, Izzat and Hamdi Hanafi, along with about 80 other members of their gang, kidnapped over 100 inhabitants of Nakilah, a village over 300 kilometres south of Cairo. They had tried to take over some of its land and took hostages when confronted by 6,000 police. A standoff lasting seven days ensued with one person killed and several wounded, before the hostages were freed. Izzat was already on the hook for some other charges, including murder, and had already been sentenced to over 100 years in prison. Police found 50 kilograms of opium and half a tonne of marijuana at their headquarters.
While the brothers were sentenced to death in September 2005 by the state’s highest court, the mufti, three other gang members were given life sentences. Other defendants were to get sentences between three and 15 years, with twenty being acquitted.
