Political parties and human rights organisations have voiced serious concern over the decree, issued by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Sinai which left 31 soldiers dead, expanding the role of the army in protecting public utilities and buildings. Issued on 27 October the decree expands the army's mandate to provide protection for the power grid, gas pipelines, railways, public buildings, roads and bridges alongside the regular police force which is under the control of the Interior Ministry. The decree says the “exceptional measure” will apply for two years. In the absence of a parliament Al-Sisi is empowered to issue legislation by decree. Local human rights groups, including the National Human Rights Council (NHRC), immediately cried foul. They have warned the decree violates article 204 of the constitution, approved by the vast majority of Egyptians in January, which limits the competence of military courts to cases involving attacks on army installations and personnel. NHRC Deputy President Abdel-Ghaffar Shokr, who heads the Popular Socialist Alliance Party, warns the decree will lead to a sharp increase in the number of civilians sent to military trials. “This law means that if a civilian throws a rock at a government building or any other installation protected by the army he will be referred to a military court. It negatively impacts on political and civil rights. Citizens should stand trial in front of civilian courts not military tribunals,” he says. Minister of Justice Mahfouz Saber insists that if university students clash with army soldiers, in cases where the latter are providing campus security, “then of course they should be referred to a military court”. The decree, he argues, is perfectly constitutional and complies with article 204 which states that attacks on army installations, personnel “or similar institutions” be tried before military tribunals. When it is the army protecting power grids, railways and universities, he argues, “they turn into military installations and violators can be referred to military courts”. Universities, where the Muslim Brotherhood retains a strong presence, have been in turmoil since the academic year began early in October. Clashes with police are an almost daily occurrence. A week before the Sinai attack the militant group Ajnad Misr claimed responsibility for two bombs that injured six policemen and five civilians near Cairo University. The group said the explosive devices were in revenge for police violence in confronting protests held by university students. At least 50 students have been arrested since the Sinai attack. Mohamed Al-Qinawi, dean of Mansoura University, reports that 16 students were arrested by the army on campus on Tuesday, 28 October, and are likely to be referred to a military court. No civilians have yet been referred to a military tribunal under the decree. The Egyptian Social Democratic (ESDP), Al-Dostour and Popular Trend Parties each issued a statement asking Al-Sisi to reconsider the decree, warning of its consequences on public freedom and arguing that it violates the constitution. “Issuing laws expanding the scope of military jurisdiction by adding offences that can be committed by civilians against civilian facilities is a clear violation of the constitution which was approved by a majority of the Egyptian people. It reflects a lack of confidence in the ordinary justice system,” said the ESDP's statement issued on 2 November. Fifteen leading local human rights groups signed a joint statement saying the decree amounted to an “unofficial declaration of a state of emergency”. The groups, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies, the Hisham Mubarak Centre, Nazra for Feminist Studies, No to Military Trials of Civilians and the Egyptian Centre for Social and Economic rights have all called on the president to suspend his decree. “The expansion in the mandate of military courts represents a violation of Article 204 of the 2014 Constitution which restricted referrals of civilians to military tribunals to cases involving a direct attack on military installations or camps. The new decree attempts to avoid the constitutional restriction by assigning the Armed Forces to protect public buildings and utilities in cooperation with the police, which means that violators will stand in front of a military judge and not the regular judicial system. This could result in referring thousands to military courts which lack the guarantees necessary for a fair and just trial, and establishes a parallel judicial system,” said the joint statement issued by human rights groups. The statement notes that recent cases in which students and democracy activists have stood trial for breaking the controversial protest law, usually facing additional charges such as disrupting public order and blocking roads, could now be heard by military courts. The joint statement added that “many citizens are already facing military tribunals in Ismailia and Suez for their alleged involvement in criminal and terrorist acts against the army, its check points or installations, and are being held in military prisons”. Nour Farahat, professor of law and a member of the committee that drafted the 2014 Constitution, says he understands the thinking behind the decree in the context of an ongoing confrontation with several terrorist groups. “But the simple fact is,” says Farahat, “the presidential decree violates the constitution and its legal justifications are faulty.” “We cannot issue a law that defines military installations as those which the army uses to carry out its duties to protect the nation and pretend this definition extends to universities and other public buildings.” Under Hosni Mubarak civilians were regularly referred to military courts when, in the 1990s, organisations such as Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya and Al-Jihad were carrying out terrorist attacks. More than a hundred death sentences handed down by military courts were executed. Egypt remained under a state of emergency throughout Mubarak's 30 years in office which allowed the former autocrat to resort to exceptional measures. Ending the state of emergency was one of the first acts undertaken by the government after Mubarak's ouster on 11 February, 2011 following a popular revolution against his rule. A number of political parties and human rights organisations lobbied hard during the drafting process of the new constitution to completely ban military trials for civilians. After a heated debate and objections from the army the practice was narrowed down to citizens implicated in direct attacks against army personnel and installations.
