CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak has proposed a law that would set up an appeals court for suspects tried before military tribunals, known for their tough and swift verdicts, a cabinet statement said on Wednesday.
Mubarak has sent the draft bill to both houses of parliament, dominated by his ruling National Democratic Party. Under the present law, only the president can reverse verdicts of a military court.
This will provide more guarantees for those transferred to the military judiciary, the statement said. It did not say how judges will be selected for the new court.
A set of constitutional amendments, which were approved in a nationwide referendum on Monday, give the president powers to transfer any terrorism suspect to military courts.
Military courts have been used most to prosecute members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country s biggest opposition group.
In February, Mubarak transferred 40 Brotherhood members, including the group s third-in-command Khairat El-Shatir to a military court on charges that include money laundering and terrorism.
The Brotherhood operates openly in Egypt despite being banned since 1954.
