CAIRO: Egypt's military on Wednesday sentenced five men to death for robbery and murder and sentenced two men to six months in prison for chanting anti-military slogans. One of the men, 18-year-old activist Hassan Said, was arrested in a central Cairo square on Aug. 2, a day after soldiers and police violently dispersed a weeks-long sit in by activists demanding faster reforms. The second man was identified as 23-year-old Karim Sayid but no further details about when he was arrested were available. The military, in power since a popular revolt ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February, has promised to hand over government to civilians after a yet unscheduled presidential election. A growing chorus of rights groups have condemned it for prosecuting activists over such charges as insulting the ruling generals. They say the military is not impartial in judging these cases, because it is also the plaintiff. The charges may lead to sentences of up to three years in prison. The military this week decided to try an activist and blogger who posted a widely popular appeal to Egyptians to rise up against Mubarak days before the January 25 revolt. Asmaa Mahfouz, who has become a vocal critic of the military, is charged with insulting the military on the internet, in a step the New York-based Human Rights Watch described as an "escalation" against military opponents. On the same day, a military court on Wednesday sentenced five men to death after they robbed a gas station and killed a police commander during the getaway, the official MENA news agency reported. Seven others who were arrested after the May robbery in the Red Sea town of Al-Quseir were acquitted, the agency said. The military has tried thousands of civilians for crimes ranging from robbery and assault to insulting the armed forces. Its courts have sentenced several people to hang for crimes such as rape and murder. Although the military trials were welcomed by many Egyptians during the lawless few months after the revolt, the military now faces increasing criticism for the tribunals, which rights groups say are unfair.
