As more civilians sent to military court, police may be protected

This week the courts moved to annul military trials for members of the police force, while simultaneously referring even more civilians to military court, with another 15 students now facing charges before a military tribunal.

In addition to the students, the general prosecutor referred 11 other civilians to military trial over the past two days.

On Monday, judicial authorities in the Sharqiya governorate authorized sending 15 students from Zagazig University and Al-Azhar University’s Zagazig campus to military court.

They were reportedly arrested on November 26 while marching in the Islamist-affiliated Students Against the Coup rally during a press conference inside the police forces club, at which the Sharqiya governor and security director were present.

The students face charges of storming the Zagazig Police Forces Club, inciting violence and committing violent acts, and destroying public property, according to a report issued by the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).

The state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that the students also face charges of belonging to a terrorist organization, protesting without authorization, resisting arrest and vandalism, as well as injuring three security personnel and a civilian as they “rioted.”

The general prosecutor’s office in southern Sharqiya reportedly made the decision to send the students to military trial.

On Tuesday, Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat referred five civilians to military trial in Damietta on charges of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization, while on Monday, six civilians in Gharbiya were sent to military court on accusations of bombing a gas pipeline near Tanta, according to Reuters.

This is just the latest in a long string of ordering military trials for civilians. On December 13, the general prosecutor referred 439 civilians to military trial on charges of assaulting security forces and attacking state institutions.

In October, Egypt’s top-general-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expanded authorities’ powers to refer civilians to military trials. On October 27, Sisi issued a presidential decree authorizing the trial of civilians before military tribunals if they are charged with attacks on state-owned buildings, public property and other vital facilities.

This decree was issued following the deadly attacks on security forces in northeastern Sinai on October 24 that resulted in the deaths of at least 30 military personnel.

While recognizing the threat of terror attacks, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Egyptian state’s greatly expanded powers to send civilians to military tribunals. 

At least 820 civilians were referred to military trials over the past two months, according to HRW, which described the trend as “another nail in the coffin of the justice in Egypt.”

HRW concurred with local Egyptian rights organizations in pointing out that military courts “lack even the shaky due process guarantees provided by regular courts.”

“Militarizing the trials of civilians, including children, is taking Egypt in the wrong direction, and doing so retroactively compounds the abuse,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW in the Middle and North Africa.

HRW and other rights groups claim that well over 11,000 civilians have stood trial before military courts since the 2011 uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

However, on December 27, the Cairo Administrative Court issued a decree nullifying all previous verdicts issued against police personnel before military tribunals. This court ordered that policemen or officers issued sentences by these military courts are to be retried before criminal courts that fall under the jurisdiction of the civilian judiciary.