In the latest update from Cairo: Within the chambers where the brand new constitution is being drafted, the heroic Egyptian army has aggressively defended an old legislation that gives it the right to try civilians before military courts. For those of you who dont know what military trials are, heres a short description: The military law and justice system in a democratic country is exclusively founded to govern the conduct of members of the armed forces. In Egypt, a military tribunal can be held for a civilian. Military tribunals dont give the defendants or their lawyers any time to prepare a proper case for defense, a military judge can and will deny the defendant the right to meet with their lawyers in private, a military judge will immediately dismiss any claims of torture or duress by a defendant (because investigating such claims would be a crime on the part of the judge within military law) and verdicts issued by a military tribunal are immune to appeals or resumptions. This is just to list a few attributes of this truly spectacular judicial system. The percentage of trials in which the defendants were convicted and sentenced are 93% (sources: Human Rights Watch Egypt and Common Sense). Why would a civilian stand before a military tribunal in Egypt? The list is long. It includes allegations of terrorism, allegations of inciting violence, and allegations of insulting military personnel among many other ambiguous terms that are left for the interpretation of the military judge who also happens to be an active officer in the military. As I write these words to you, thousands of Egyptian citizens are locked up in military camps in remote areas that their relatives have no access to. Egyptian citizens of all kinds: Dark-skinned, light-skinned, wavy or curly hair, from Port Saiid or the New Valley; theyre all in there. There are people who have been there long before Facebook was created; long before the writer of these lines found the first hair on his chest. As for the conditions in which these men and women are imprisoned, kindly refer to the first gutter on your way home. O.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:24:16 +0000
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