....................Virginity-Tester-in-Chief of the Egyptian Junta....................
By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, Jul 4, 2011 (IPS) - The violence that engulfed downtown Cairo last week and left over 1,000 civilians injured took everyone by surprise, but was not unexpected. It had been brewing for nearly five months.
On Wednesday morning, Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square appeared much as it did during the 18-day uprising that led to the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak. Tear gas lingered in the air, hastily erected metal barricades blocked access roads, and the streets were littered with chunks of pavement, broken glass and spent tear gas canisters.
"It was January 25 all over again," said one man nursing a bandaged arm, referring to the historic day that Egypt's uprising began. "Mubarak is gone, but nothing has changed. The police are still using the same brutal tactics."....
"Mubarak's first court appearance isn't scheduled until August," says Habib. "Why is it taking so long?"
The glacial pace of trials involving senior officials from the former regime contrasts with the hasty trials of citizens arrested since the start of the uprising.
Egyptian military courts have handed down sentences to thousands of civilians since February, say rights lawyers. Most court sessions last just five minutes and lack the elements of a fair trial. Sentences are severe and cannot be appealed.
"It is inexplicable that civilians, including protesters arrested during peaceful demonstrations, are being tried in unfair military courts, while those responsible for murdering over 800 protesters will stand before civil courts," says Adel Ramadan, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). "
"CAIRO, Jul 4, 2011 (IPS) - The violence that engulfed downtown Cairo last week and left over 1,000 civilians injured took everyone by surprise, but was not unexpected. It had been brewing for nearly five months.
On Wednesday morning, Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square appeared much as it did during the 18-day uprising that led to the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak. Tear gas lingered in the air, hastily erected metal barricades blocked access roads, and the streets were littered with chunks of pavement, broken glass and spent tear gas canisters.
"It was January 25 all over again," said one man nursing a bandaged arm, referring to the historic day that Egypt's uprising began. "Mubarak is gone, but nothing has changed. The police are still using the same brutal tactics."....
"Mubarak's first court appearance isn't scheduled until August," says Habib. "Why is it taking so long?"
The glacial pace of trials involving senior officials from the former regime contrasts with the hasty trials of citizens arrested since the start of the uprising.
Egyptian military courts have handed down sentences to thousands of civilians since February, say rights lawyers. Most court sessions last just five minutes and lack the elements of a fair trial. Sentences are severe and cannot be appealed.
"It is inexplicable that civilians, including protesters arrested during peaceful demonstrations, are being tried in unfair military courts, while those responsible for murdering over 800 protesters will stand before civil courts," says Adel Ramadan, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). "
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