ISTANBUL 

An Arab human rights body on Wednesday called on the international community and rights groups to help stop the implementation of death penalties awarded to 12 Muslim Brotherhood members by the Egyptian judiciary.

In a statement, the Arab Council, chaired by former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, denounced the “shocking rulings" by the judiciary against the Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

Egypt’s highest civilian court on Monday upheld the death sentences of 12 Muslim Brotherhood members, including senior leaders Mohamed al-Beltagy, Safwat Hegazy, Abdel-Rahman el-Bar, Osama Yassin (former Egyptian minister), and Ahmed Aref.

On Aug. 14, 2013, the army and police dispersed two sit-in protests held by the supporters of late Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo, according to local reports.

According to Egypt’s official National Council for Human Rights, 632 people were killed, including eight police officers, when the security forces violently dispersed the pro-Morsi protests in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Giza's al-Nahda squares.

The international rights groups, however, say the number of deaths was much bigger.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara