In search of fair trial |
Military trials in #Egypt, worse then ever
Mada Masr
Naira Antoun
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/search-fair-trial
In search of fair trial
Military trials carry on, with slight variations
By: Naira Antoun
As increasing numbers of Islamists are being arrested and facing military trials, there is a certain irony that it was the Constitution, essentially authored by the Muslim Brotherhood, that was the first in the country’s history to allow such trials for civilians, in specific circumstances.
Setting a constitutional precedent that still remains in place in the aftermath of President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster, the relevant article reads: “Civilians shall not stand trial before military courts except for crimes that harm the Armed Forces.”
Previously the 1971 Constitution only stipulated: The law shall regulate the military judiciary, and define their competences in the framework of the principles in the Constitution. And while military courts were used to prosecute civilians, it was by special order from the presidency, not codified in the country’s charter.
If you don’t talk back, you might end up in civilian court or nothing will happen. If you talk back, maybe nothing will happen, but it happens a lot that it ends up as a military trial
Since June 30, there have been almost 100 detainees referred to military trial, many on charges of harming the Armed Forces. The cases are broad, from fishermen accused of fishing in military waters and those caught breaking the curfew, to those accused of chanting slogans that are damaging to national security and spreading false information about the military.
Ahmed Abu Deraa, a journalist in northern Sinai, was reporting on the military’s Sinai campaign and its impact on civilians. He was arrested and accused of reporting false news. He faced a military trial and has since been released with a six-month suspended sentence.
Mahmoud Salamani of the No to Military Trials campaign says that while journalists have faced military summons in the past two and a half years, Deraa is the first to be sentenced in a military trial. “It’s a worrying sign,” he says.
In Suez, seven people faced military trial in September for employing slogans allegedly damaging to national security.
“What is national security, anyway?” Salamani asks rhetorically. “No one can answer that question.”
