CAIRO: Leftist, liberal and Islamist political parties and presidential hopefuls condemned in a press conference held Saturday the continuation of military trials for civilians.
Along with rights groups, they urged the ruling military council to refer all those who were tried in military courts to civilian ones.
The three-hour long presser featured tear-jerking testimonials by families recounting how their children were unjustly arrested and convicted for false charges. Activists, including Asmaa Mahfouz, recounted their experience with military prosecution and courts.
Mohamed El-Kassas, representative of the Egyptian Stream Party, explained that military courts cannot be considered as part of the judiciary.
"Activists managed to mobilize the public and the media because they are well known and they usually receive amnesty, but what about 12,000 poor Egyptians who cannot initiate the same level of mobilization?" El-Kassas added.
The popularity card
The Supreme Council of Armed Forces SCAF pardoned activist Loai Nagati, who was arrested in June 28 while covering the clashes between police forces and protesters near Tahrir, and activist Asmaa Mahfouz, who criticized in her Facebook and twitter accounts the lack of justice and law, expressing fears of violence as well as the generals of the military council in a TV interview
Nagati received amnesty although more than 40 protesters arrested with him still face a military trial, while Mahfouz was released by the military prosecution on a LE 20,000 bail before the Supreme Council of the Armed Froces (SCAF) withdrew its complaint against her.
"My detention inside the military prison was such an insulting experience; I was beaten and others were sexually harassed, in addition to severe health conditions by the detainees," Nagati said in the conference. He was released last month for health reasons pending the trial.
"There is a kind of discrimination among the civilian detainees; I received amnesty although I face the same charges faced by the 40 detainees arrested with me during the clashes," Nagati said.
Akram Ismail, representing the Popular Coalition Party, condemned SCAF’s 72nd statement in which Mahfouz and Nagati received amnesty.
"The statement re-legitimizes military trials, because it discriminates between popular activists and thousands of poor Egyptians who cannot have the same popularity," Ismail said.
"Using the term ‘thuggery’ to justify the violations of law is unacceptable," he added.
The SCAF 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.
Nagati noted that civilian courts and police forces are now in full power and can handle trying civilians, so there is no need for the continuation of military trials of civilians.
"I met a judge inside the prosecution who told me that he gave five years prison sentence for a civilian who, if tried in front a civilian court, would have received a one-year sentence," Mahfouz said of her experience at the military prosecution.
"So the judge was proud to give a bigger prison sentence for the citizen, isn’t this unjust?" Mahfouz said.
Political rejection
Representatives from the Egyptian Social Democratic, Al-Wafd, Al-Ghad, the Egyptian Stream, the Popular Coalition and Al-Noor Parties showed solidarity, in addition to presidential hopefuls Bouthaina Kamel and Ayman Nour and a representative from the campaign of Islamist potential candidate Hazem Salah Abo-Ismail,
"The Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Fouad Sheeha from Al-Wafd Party and presidential hopeful Ayman Nour declare our complete rejection of the military trials of civilians,” said Maha Abdel Nasser of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.
Nour, however, declined to give a speech, saying, "We are not here to show off; we are just here for support."
Representative of Al-Noor Party Sameh El-Gazzar condemned the referral of civilians to military courts while former interior minister Habib El-Adly and his aides, who are facing charges of killing protesters during the Jan. 25 uprising, are tried in civilian courts.
"We have seen Al-Adly smiling in the dock while the families of the detainees are crying for help; that is a provocative scene," said El-Gazzar.
"Mubarak is also tried in a civilian court although he was the head of the SCAf when he ordered the killing of the protesters. I am afraid to say that we are not in a revolution," the representative of the Islamist Salafi party added.
Hany Hafez, official spokesman of the campaign of the presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abo Ismail, said that all Egyptians will be questioned for their silence over the injustice against the thousands of civilians tried in military courts.
"Using thuggery to justify violation of the law is the same as how the US used the term terrorism to justify its violations," Hafez said.
"We urge the SCAF to end military trials for civilians, and put a specific timeline to hand in powers to an elected civilian body," he added. He called for a campaign to get presidential hopefuls to sign on these demands along with refusing any custodianship over drafting the constitution.
Presidential hopeful Bouthaina Kamel recalle when she was summoned two times by the military prosecution for criticizing the SCAF.
"I was released, but I never knew that thousands suffer from this tragedy. I thought that only activists and protesters are tried in military courts," she said. "There are thousands in military prisons whom we know nothing about; we have to make them a national cause."
Thousands in military courts
Families recounted how their sons were arrested and tried in military courts, complaining about the deteriorating health and psychological conditions resulted from torture, lack of food and bad treatment.
Other families complained about torture practiced against their children if the families speak to the media, while others cited the difficulties they faced to find the whereabouts of their children after their arrest. Other difficulties include the struggle of lawyers to attend the trials.
The recurrent complaints were of random arrests and convictions based on false charges.
"My son was arrested from his bedroom while recovering from a surgery and received 25 years prison sentence for having Molotov Cocktails," said the mother of 19 years old detainee Mohamed Ishaq.
"Military police was supposed to search for a thug in our building, after failing to arrest him they stormed our apartment and arrested my poor son for a crime he did not commit," she added.
Lawyer and member of ‘No to Military Trials’ campaign Ragia Omran said that Hassan Mahmoud and Karim Sayed, randomly arrested in downtown Cairo on Aug. 2, received 6 months prison sentence for insulting the military.
"My brother was randomly arrested while getting out of Sadat Metro Station to buy shoes," said brother of Hassan Mahmoud.
"He was not chanting or anything, and he was beaten up by the military police inside the courtroom for talking with his lawyer," he added.
Treaties
Human Rights Watch researcher in Middle East and North Africa Division Heba Morayef said that over 12,000 civilians have been tried by military courts since the army took to the streets on Jan.28.
"The SCAF stressed in its first statement its compliance with all international agreements, and we would like to remind them of the International Declaration of Civil and Political Rights signed by Egypt which calls for the right of a fair trial," Morayef said.
"HRW met with SCAF members who described the Military Legal Code as just although this code in specific is the core of the problem," she added.
