CAIRO: Independent member of the Egyptian Lower House of Parliament submitted a draft bill to the assembly on Tuesday to abolish military tribunals of civilians. MP Mohammed el-Omda`s proposed bill stipulates the abolition of Article VI of the martial law No. 25 of 1966, which states that “the provisions of this law on the crimes included in the Penal Code, which are referred to the military judiciary through a decree by the President of the Republic, as the President is granted the right to refer any crimes and offenses punishable under the Penal Code or any other law, to a military tribunal, whenever a state of emergency is declared by the President.” The bill has proposed to repeal the text of Article 48 of the Act, which stipulates that the “military judicial authorities are the only authorized to decide whether the offense is within the jurisdiction or not.” Since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, at least 12,000 civilians have been referred to military tribunals, according to local and international human rights reports, which has sparked a number of protests and criticism of the ruling military junta. Protests in central Cairo are ongoing since January 25, with activists demanding the end to the military's rule over the country. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/zHbBi Tags: featured, Military Trials, SCAF Section: Egypt, Latest News
