More happened outside the courtroom than inside at the military trial of 39 Muslim Brotherhood members, reports Karim El-Khashab The third hearing in the trial of 39 Muslim Brotherhood members was adjourned on Sunday amid massive media coverage. The defendants, who include the Brotherhood's Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater, face charges of money laundering and supporting terrorism. The appearance of former US Attorney-General Ramsey Clark on the defence team, and the presence of the leading British journalist Yvonne Ridley, guaranteed that the high-profile trial would remain in the media spotlight. Outside the Haikstep military base where the trial is taking place, dozens of reporters and human rights activists waited to be issued clearances to be allowed into the courtroom. After initially agreeing, the security forces backtracked and refused to allow many of those outside to enter, including Clark, who had flown in a day earlier to offer his services to the defence team. Relatives of the defendants were also barred from entering the courtroom, and had to wait outside until the seven-hour session was over. The defence team was also scheduled to include Sir Ivan Lawrence, former council to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the leading British lawyer Ali Azhar. Azhar was barred by security forces from entering Egypt when he arrived at the Cairo International Airport, and subsequently returned to the UK. Supporters and family members stood outside the military base holding banners and chanting slogans calling for the immediate release of the detainees. Salah Farghaly, whose uncle is one of the defendants, told Al-Ahram Weekly that preventing family members from entering the courtroom was part of the police strategy to deny any access to the defendants. "We haven't been able to see them and this would have been our first chance in a long time," he said, adding that there is growing concern over the health of several defendants. Clark appeared astonished at being barred from the courtroom. He held an impromptu press conference by his car, repeating his offer to help the defence team if they so wished, and publicly wondering what the Egyptian government was hiding by preventing access to the courtroom. Insulated from the media circus outside, the panel of judges reviewed the evidence against the defendants. Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a member of the defence team, told the Weekly that the prosecution's case was full of holes and that an appeal had already been lodged with the constitutional court questioning the competence of the trial procedures. The prosecution presented evidence including publications, computers and weapons said to have been found in the homes of the defendants. El-Shater delivered a long speech detailing his previous conviction by a military court in 1995, pleading with the judges not to inflict more misery on the defendants. The court later adjourned proceedings until 5 August. MP and Muslim Brotherhood member Sobhi Saleh told the Weekly at a press conference held on Monday that international interest in the case had surprised the Brotherhood, though the presence of high-profile figures like Clark, who had previously represented Saddam Hussein and Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, was bound to attract attention. Meanwhile, the government appears to be involved in a damage limitation exercise over the unprecedented publicity. Leading Brotherhood member Essam El-Erian was recently prevented from travelling to Qatar, and two local bloggers were arrested on their way to the court to cover the trial. Amira Azzam, a professor of political science at Helwan University, believes the Brotherhood has recently upped its media game, becoming much more publicity savvy. "By prosecuting this trial the government has put itself in a difficult position," Azzam says. "On the one hand, it refuses to try the defendants before a civilian court, yet it knows military trials harm its image at home and abroad." Azzam does not discount the possibility that the case may be drawn out as the government tries to find a solution to its dilemma, or alternatively the trial may be abandoned. "Whatever decision is taken from here on is going to be costly," she says.
