Dozens of Qorsaya Island residents blocked Al-Bahr Al-Aazam road in Giza for an hour on Monday to protest a military court postponing for a month the verdict in a case against their fellow residents.
“There are between 100 and 200 protesters blocking the road. They demand to meet with any high ranking Ministry of Defence official and discuss a solution to their ordeal,” said Mahmoud Salmani, a member of the No to Military Trials for Civilians movement.
The protesters cleared the road after a meeting with the Giza police chief who promised them he would arrange a meeting with the commander of the Central Military Zone for them.
This the second time the military court postponed the verdict, having previously done so on 14 January. The verdict was postponed to 27 February this time.
“The judge said he did not know why the case was postponed. He obviously received orders from someone who outranks him. Military court judges usually have officers who rank higher than them,” said Salmani.
He added: “The judge is teaching them a lesson so that no one would stand up to the military anymore. Another possibility is that the media pressure surrounding this case is embracing the military so they are keeping them in until its been three months then they will sentence them to three months in prison and release them for time served.”
Following clashes with the military, 26 Qorsaya residents are facing military trial on charges of committing acts of violence against the military.
Residents clashed with military forces on 18 November last year, which left one Qorsaya resident dead and several injured after the military fired rubber bullets.
The military claims the island belongs to it and that is using it for defence purposes but an administrative court has twice ruled that the land belongs to the residents.
