CAIRO: A leading Egyptian activist group “No Military Trials for Civilians,” condemned Egypt's ruling interim government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), for its continued use of military trials against civilians. The group's statement came in response to the military detention of Alaa Abdel Fattah, a leading blogger and activist, who was accused of “inciting violence” during the Bloody Sunday Maspero protests on October 9,in which 27 protesters were killed and nearly 300 injured. Fattah is one of a string of activists and bloggers to be unjustly detained and subjected to military trial for speaking out against the ruling military council. “We demand that Alaa Abd El Fattah be freed immediately, that military trials of civilians be stopped and all those sentenced thus far be released or, at least, retried before civilian courts. We support all of those who similarly refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the military prosecution,” read the group's statement on Sunday, berating the SCAF. The military trials of civilians is an important issue for Egyptian activists who have called for the Egyptian people to stand in solidarity with a reported 12,000 Egyptians who have been subjected to the military courts. This statistic is inordinate when compared to the 2,000 civilians sentenced under military trial during the 30-year rule of former President Hosni Mubarak. Alaa was subjected to 15 days imprisonment, a term which could be extended indefinitely. Human rights group Amnesty International also released a statement condemning the military trial of Abdel Fattah. “The military justice system should never be used to investigate or prosecute civilians. Military courts are fundamentally unfair, as they deprive defendants of basic fair trial guarantees. In Egypt, military courts effectively deny defendants the right to appeal, limiting it to legal points without any review of the facts and evidence of the case.” BM
