CAIRO: The third military tribunal of the 40 high-ranking detained members of the Muslim Brotherhood was adjourned until Aug. 8 after a six-hour court session at the Heikstep military base Sunday. Abdel Moneim Abdul Maqsoud, the Muslim Brotherhood s lawyer, told The Daily Star Egypt that the court examined the confiscated belongings of the detainees, which included books, laptops and some documents. He said there were no expectations for a release decision. Abdul Maqsoud said the case is overseen by the military and civil court at the same time, although only the latter should be proceeding with the case. He said the adjournment was expected, but the defense team requested that the military court immediately discontinue overseeing the case. The detainees are civilians and their case should be debated in a civil court. "Four months ago, we presented a request to the constitutional court to decide weather the military or the civil court should hear the case. The members of the Muslim Brotherhood are normal citizens and do not have any military positions that would make the military court deal with their case, said Abdul Maqsoud. He added that the constitutional court has not yet decided which specialized court should proceed with the case. He said the military court insisted on examining the confiscated belongings, although the defense documented a legal objection against this court continuing with the case. The members were arrested last December and were accused of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood group, terrorism and money laundering. Khayrat El Shater, the third highest-ranking member and known as the group s chief strategist and financier, is among the detainees who stood behind bars in the previous court trials. According to an article published by Islamonline.net, El Shater asked the court to fear God, deal legally and fairly with the case and consider that the detainees faced the same situation in 1995, when civil cases were overseen by the military court. "What will happen if the constitutional court decided to separate civilian cases from the military court? What is the fault of these innocent people? said El Shater in the trail. Essam El Erian, the official spokesman of the banned group, told The Daily Star Egypt that Muslim Brotherhood members presented an appeal to the constitutional court since 1995 to disallow civil cases to be viewed by the military court, but until now nothing has changed. Commenting on the last trial, El Erian said the government is preventing the media from covering the trials, which is awkward. "It seems that the government is keenly aware of all the human rights violations happening. Parents, journalists and supporters were not allowed to enter the court and police forces confiscated all their pens and mobiles and any suspicious belongings, El Erian said. He added that all representatives of human rights organizations, international and local observers as well as international lawyers were all barred from attending the court session. This included former US Attorney General Ramsey Clarke who arrived Sunday in Cairo to attend, reported by Reuters. "I think it is an open case that should be attended and covered by everyone, but the government knows it is committing a crime and does not want anyone to cover it, said El Erian. Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood group, told The Daily Star Egypt, he was expecting the adjournment. The trail should be adjourned so that the court would give the defense team enough chance to study the documents and examine the confiscated belongings of the members, said Habib.
