27 military and 339 criminal trials since Egypt's coup

The Wiki Revolution website, which is affiliated to the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, has reported that 27 military trials, as well as 339 criminal trials, have taken place since Egypt’s coup, led by former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi against Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on 3 July 2013.

The website noted that more than 10,000 political opponents have faced charges, of which 1,000 were acquitted and 3,000 were convicted of various counts, while the majority of defendants are still on trial.

Wiki Revolution pointed out that the number of anti-coup detainees since the ousting of President Morsi is about 21,000 persons, stressing that arrests continue to take place on almost a daily basis in areas where there is strong support for the alliance of legitimacy.

It is noteworthy that two weeks ago, the Associated Press news agency reported that around 16,000 people have been detained since the coup against President Morsi, based upon information from two interior ministry officials and two officials from the armed forces about the number of political opponents detained during the past eight months.

The officials also revealed that the total number of detainees include 3,000 prisoners from the upper and middle leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, hundreds of women and minors have been arrested for taking part in protests and are now imprisoned.

The number of Egyptians currently detained is the highest in more than two decades. There were up to 30,000 prisoners in Egyptian jails, mostly Islamists, during the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak.

The agency added that human rights reports have also documented that prisoners, including women and children, are facing an escalation of abuses amidst questions about the role of the public prosecutor in investigating them, as well as increasingly fabricated charges.

Source: Al-Resalah.net