CAIRO: The military trials of Egyptian civilians will end only after the emergency law is lifted, Nile News quoted Head of Military Judiciary General Adel El-Morsy as saying. El-Morsy was speaking to journalists on Monday. Meanwhile, families of detainees promised civilian trials told Daily News Egypt that while they were transferred to civilian prisons, they faced military courts. "We discovered that my son was only transferred from the Military Prison to the Appeals Prison, but still tried in front of a military court," mother of Mounir Yousry told Daily News Egypt on Monday. Yousry's family, along with families of a number of detainees, was told by officers in the military prison last week that their children's cases will be referred to civilian courts. This coincided with an announcement by the head of the ruling military council Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi suspending the sentences of 230 civilians tried in military courts. "We thought transferring my son to a civilian prison would be better, but we discovered that his detention inside the military prison was even better," the mother said. "I waited from 7 am to 5 pm to meet my son for one minute in a small room where more than 100 people came to see their detained sons — this is humiliation," she added. Yousry was arrested after a fight broke out between one of his friends, Abdel Rahman, and another man. They were referred to Nasr City police station where they were badly beaten, according to his mother. Yousry was kept at the police station until his referral to the military prosecution. "The military prison declined to take my son and two of his friends due to their bad injuries and had to wait until their wounds healed," she added. His case was adjourned several times over two months, and he was falsely charged with weapons possession, according to his mother. "They were not holding any guns, it was just a normal fight that broke out between three young men," she said. Mounir's trial will resume Sept. 6 for a final verdict. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said in its 68th statement that only cases of thuggery associated with using weapons, rape, and attacking security officials will be referred to military trials. "Everyone who is not liked is called a thug. My son is accused of thuggry and gun possession although he was arrested during a street fight with no guns," the mother said. Among the demands of mass protests planned for Sept. 9 is ending military trials of civilians. Rights groups say more than 12,000 civilians have been tried in military courts since the January 25 uprising.
