By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, May 5, 2011 (IPS) - Thousands of Egyptian civilians, including protesters who helped topple the authoritarian regime of president Hosni Mubarak, have been tried in military courts without due process. "The use of military trials on this scale is without precedent," says Adel Ramadan, a rights lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)....
Many Egyptians cheered when the army deployed during mass demonstrations against the Mubarak regime, chanting "The army and the people are one." Yet some now accuse the ruling military council of borrowing chapters from the former dictator’s playbook.
"If you protest, they beat you and can accuse you of any crime," says Mohamed Farrag, showing stitches on his forearm he claims he was given after a soldier struck him with a baton.
International rights watchdogs have demanded that the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) release all political prisoners and investigate allegations of army torture and abuse. They have also called for the retrial in a civilian court of any person charged with a criminal offence, noting a glaring double standard in treatment.
"Egypt’s military leadership has not explained why young protesters are being tried before unfair military courts while former Mubarak officials are being tried for corruption and killing protesters before regular criminal courts," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement......"
"CAIRO, May 5, 2011 (IPS) - Thousands of Egyptian civilians, including protesters who helped topple the authoritarian regime of president Hosni Mubarak, have been tried in military courts without due process. "The use of military trials on this scale is without precedent," says Adel Ramadan, a rights lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)....
Many Egyptians cheered when the army deployed during mass demonstrations against the Mubarak regime, chanting "The army and the people are one." Yet some now accuse the ruling military council of borrowing chapters from the former dictator’s playbook.
"If you protest, they beat you and can accuse you of any crime," says Mohamed Farrag, showing stitches on his forearm he claims he was given after a soldier struck him with a baton.
International rights watchdogs have demanded that the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) release all political prisoners and investigate allegations of army torture and abuse. They have also called for the retrial in a civilian court of any person charged with a criminal offence, noting a glaring double standard in treatment.
"Egypt’s military leadership has not explained why young protesters are being tried before unfair military courts while former Mubarak officials are being tried for corruption and killing protesters before regular criminal courts," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement......"
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