CAIRO: Over 100,000 comments were posted on the Facebook page of the ruling military council last Saturday as part of an online protest on social media websites against military trial for civilians. "This is the first time an organized electronic protest is launched on both Twitter and Facebook against military trials," Evronia Azer, coordinator of “No to Military Trials for Civilians” in Alexandria, told Daily News Egypt on Sunday. The protest started at 10 pm and included the official Facebook pages of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Cabinet. In the first 10 minutes of the e-protest, more than 1,500 comments were posted on SCAF's Facebook page calling for an end to military trials, according to Azer. By the end of the day, more than 100,000 comments had been published on Facebook. However SCAF's supporters fought back with some saying, "Yes to the military trial of thugs and spies." One activist argued, "by trying accused thugs in military [courts], you're depriving them of the chance to defend themselves and having a fair trial." Many e-protesters believed that contrary to SCAF's claims, most of those being tried in military courts were innocent civilians. Under the Twitter hashtag of #NoMilTrials, the Twitter community also took part with hundreds of tweets. Some suggested that if SCAF continued to try civilians in military courts, then the same rule should be applied to officials from the former regime including ousted president Hosni Mubarak and former interior Minister Habib El-Adly, who are currently facing murder charges for killing peaceful protesters. Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned military trials as a violation of civilians' rights to an adequate defense and due process. Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture said on its Twitter account, "Physical injuries heal quickly, but psychological pain takes years to heal … No to military trials." Azer said the “Twitter community has always been critical of military trials and has launched several campaigns against them, however the Facebook community was left out." She explained that the reason behind the e-protest was to raise awareness among those who didn't know enough about the military trials and to allow all Egyptians who didn't participate in protests to voice their opinions and criticism. "We want to raise people's awareness and show the world that all Egyptians can condemn and criticize military trials, not only few known activists," she said. Presidential hopefuls, including Mohamed ElBaradei and Ayman Nour, also weighed in on the e-protest. "No to military trials … end this farce immediately," ElBaradei said on his Facebook page. On his part, Nour joined the calls of hundreds of other online activists demanding the release of blogger Maikel Nabil, who was sentenced to three years in prison in March by a military court. "Maikel Nabil is a prisoner of conscience at the time of the revolution," Nour said on his Twitter account. "No to the military trials of civilians and freedom to (Nabil)." Nabil was charged with spreading false news and insulting the military institution. The false news included the use of violence by the army against civilians and using the Egyptian Museum as a torture chamber. He has been on a hunger strike since Aug. 22, and his health is quickly deteriorating. "No doctors have examined Nabil… and security officials in the prison even refused to document his strike until Aug. 25," Nabil's brother Mark told DNE. Nabil suffers from a heart condition and high blood pressure and his health has been gravely affected by the strike. Mark said that Nabil plans to stop his medication and all fluid intake on Tuesday if his demands aren't met. His demands include receiving the same treatment as other activists who have been pardoned or released despite their criticism of SCAF. Several activists and journalists including Hossam Al-Hamalawy and Rasha Azab were released following their interrogation by the military prosecution for criticizing the SCAF. Activist Asmaa Mahfouz faced charges but was released on LE 20,000 bail and later charges against her were withdrawn. Mona Seif, rights activists and member of “No to Military Trials for Civilians” campaign, defended Nabil on her Twitter account: “Maikel Nabil was sentenced for the same thing me and others are saying: That military police and army torture citizens and that they don't support the revolution." About 12,000 civilians have been tried in military court since SCAF took power on Feb. 11, according to Azer.
