Six to face military trial for illegal gold exploration

Six people have been referred to military trial, among them five Sudanese, on charges of illegally crossing into Egyptian territory, illegal gold exploration and trespassing in a banned zone.

Reports did not clarify whether the sole Egyptian among those arrested was also charged with illegally entering Egypt.

The group will be detained pending a hearing scheduled in front of a military court on December 25, General Mohamed Gomaa, head of the Hurghada military prosecution, told the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

The six were arrested by border guards in the northern Abo Ramad area of the Red Sea Governorate, according to reports. They were allegedly searching for gold in the desert using “imported equipment that is not allowed to enter the country,” security officials said. Their equipment was also confiscated.

In Egypt’s new draft constitution, Article 204 allows for the referral of civilians to military courts in certain cases, including direct attacks on Armed Forces premises, camps, properties and factories; attacks on military zones and border areas; and attacks on military vehicles or personnel while they are performing their duties.

Other cases that can be referred to military trials are listed in the article, and include crimes related to military documents, secrets or funds.

Inclusion of the article was seen as a major blow to an intense three-year campaign against the use of military trials for civilians, which had gained momentum after the January 2011 uprising. After President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, during the 18-month rule of the army council, thousands of civilians were subjected to military trial.

In late November, a protest was organized by the No To Military Trials campaign in front of the Shura Council. The demonstration, called after adoption of the controversial new Protest Law, was broken up by security forces, who also arrested dozens of protesters.

Since the removal of President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, the most high-profile military trial of a civilian has been the case of a correspondent writing for Al-Masry Al-Youm in the North Sinai Governorate.

Ahmed Abu Deraa was arrested in September and referred to military court on charges of “deliberately spreading abroad false news, reports and rumors about the domestic situation in the country and spreading false news on an Arabic satellite channel about the Armed Forces and the results of its operations in North Sinai.”

In the same month, a military tribunal sentences 11 Morsi supporters lengthy prison terms.

General Medha Redwan, head of the military judicial authority, has defended the practice of trying civilians in military courts.

"The military judiciary implements the normal Penal Code. Civilians have the right to appoint civilian lawyers to defend them, and civilians who are tried in military trials are always detained in civilian detention units,” he said. The judicial authority, Redwan added, is an independent entity that does not fall under the mandate of the Ministry of Defense.

Rights groups, however, have long criticized the use of exceptional judicial measures against civilians, the rushed process of prosecution and sentencing, and the lack of due process in the military judicial system.

In related news, the Hurghada prosecution is interrogating two Russian tourists who were found in possession of “advanced equipment for underwater mineral exploration,” the state-owned Al-Ahram portal reported.

According to the article, the Red Sea tourist police received word that the Russians, staying at a hotel in Hurghada, were allegedly intending to use the equipment for underwater mineral exploration during a planned boat trip.

The head of the Red Sea security directorate was informed and the tourists were arrested. In their defense, the tourists said that the equipment had been brought in legally through Cairo airport.

They are being held until a committee of experts determines the legality of bringing the equipment into Egypt and using it, Al-Ahram reported.