The head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, decided on Monday to suspend sentences issued by military courts against 90 civilian convicts in 68 cases. The list of convicts included in the decision does not, however, include activist and blogger Maikel Nabil, which drew angry comments by internet users who read the news online. Nabil, who is 26 years old, was sentenced on 14 December to two years in prison by a military appeals court, on the charge of insulting the armed forces through his internet blog. In April, a first instance court had sentenced Nabil to three years in prison on the same charge. Elaborating on its recent verdict, the appeals court said its ruling was not a strike against freedom of expression, but rather a reflection of defense lawyers‘ failure to prove false the charge against Nabil of insulting the armed forces. The SCAF had vowed to halt the prosecution of civilians before military tribunals, which activists say lack the minimum standards required of fair trials. The military council has faced sharp criticism because the number of civilians referred to military courts stood at 12,000 following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
