CAIRO: The head of Egypt's military judiciary committee Alaa al-Morsy said on Friday that the military trials are proceeding according to the law. He added in comments to the MENA news agency that no “revolutionary” or “thinker” had been imprisoned as a result. In denying that protesters or citizens of conscious had been tried, he said that “there haven't been any trials of any revolutionary or a peaceful protester inside the military courts.” Al-Morsy continued to say that the armed forces fully respects freedom of expression “as long as it is within the law.” His statements come after a number of journalists have been questioned by the military after they spoke critically of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) actions over the past two months. Last month Hossam al-Hamalawy, a leading activist who blogs at arabawy.org, and two journalists were summoned by the Army after they were critical of their actions during two separate OnTV broadcasts. Reem Maged and Nabil Sharifeddine, the two reporters, and Hamalawy, were questioned by the head of the military justice authority Adel Morsi. Maged, who hosts the program “Baladna mil Masry”, told reporters that the Army was not investigating her, but had aimed to “clarify” statements made on the talk show. Making al-Morsy's claims even more odd, is the fact that in April, an Egyptian military court sentenced Internet activist and blogger Maikel Nabil to three years in prison for criticizing the armed forces. He was arrested on March 28 for his blog posts critical of the army's role during the massive protests across the country during the January 25 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Nabil, 26, was a prominent secular activist who gained notoriety for his movement on Facebook called “No for the compulsory conscription.” He is the first blogger to be jailed since Mubarak's regime fell on February 11. The military has admitted to human rights groups that they have jailed some 7,000 civilians in military courts since the removal of Mubarak. BM
