CAIRO: The Military Court acquitted Monday three workers of eight accused of leading a strike to protest poor safety conditions inside an army-affiliated factory. Another two workers were sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay an LE 1,000 fine for causing damages inside the facility. The verdict has been suspended for three years; and they were acquitted of the charges of assaulting an official and refraining from work. Three other workers received a 6-month imprisonment sentence and were ordered to pay an LE 1,000 fine for destroying equipment inside the facility. The verdict has also been suspended for three years. The three workers were found not guilty in the charges of attacking a public official and refraining from work. “Even though sentences by military courts cannot be appealed, we will file a lawsuit to contest the constitutionality of the law allowing the trial of civilians before a military court,” Adel Zakaria, spokesman for the Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services (CTUWS), told Daily News Egypt. On Aug. 3, eight Helwan Engineering Industries Company workers were arrested for leading a 3-day strike to object to an accident where a nitrogen tube went off inside the premises, also known as Military Factory 99, killing one colleague and injuring many others. The workers were accused of refraining from work, assaulting a public official, the chairman of the board who is an army general, and causing damages to a public facility. The factory chairman was reportedly sacked after the incident. Reporters were denied entry into the courtroom during all the three hearings; the first of them was held on Aug. 17.
