HRW: Egypt 'militarising' prosecution of dissidents

An international human rights watchdog on Monday warned that a recent decree by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to expand the powers of the country’s military courts risks “militarising” the prosecution of protesters and political dissidents.

“This law represents another nail in the coffin of justice in Egypt,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch (HRW)’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said in a statement.

On October 27, al-Sisi issued a decree ordering the army to guard public facilities and vital state institutions for two years during which these facilities would be treated as military facilities.

People accused of attacking or blocking the operation of these facilities would, thereupon, be referred to military courts.

“[The decree’s] absurdly broad provisions mean that many more civilians who engage in protests can now expect to face trial before uniformed judges subject to the orders of their military superiors,” Whitson said.

The international watchdog cited the referral of five al-Azhar University students by a Cairo criminal court on Sunday to military court on protest-related charges.

The students were arrested during an anti-regime protest on campus. They face charges of possession of Molotov cocktails and vandalism, among others.

The criminal court said it lacked jurisdiction and moved the case to a military court.

The HRW insisted that military courts, which operate under the mantle of the Defence Ministry, typically deny defendants’ rights accorded by civilian courts, including the right to be informed of the charges against them and the rights to access a lawyer and to be brought promptly before a judge following arrest.

“This new decree is pernicious and contrary to basic standards of justice,” Whitson said.

She warned that the controversial decree, issued in the absence of a sitting parliament, will pave the way for further military trials of civilians.

“Egypt’s military courts, which lack even the shaky due process guarantees provided by regular courts, have tried more than 11,000 civilians since the 2011 uprising,” HRW said.

“Egypt’s authorities should annul all the military court verdicts against civilians handed down since the new government took power, and President al-Sisi needs to act quickly to amend his decree,” Whitson insisted.