319 civilians referred to military prosecutors in Egypt

A judicial source, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that civil prosecutors referred 258 people to military prosecution on charges of “killing policemen and vandalizing government buildings” in Beni Soueif province in the summer of 2013.

The alleged incidents date back to the aftermath of security forces’ forcible dispersal of mass protests by supporters of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president who was removed by the army from power in July of 2013.

For its part, the office of Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat said in a statement that 61 “members of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organization” have been referred to military prosecution for “committing terrorist acts against government buildings and police facilities” in the provinces of Menoufiya and Damietta.

Civil prosecutors are legally permitted to refer cases to the military prosecution, especially when it comes to vandalizing public properties.

Last year, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi approved a law that opened the door for referring violations against state institutions to military courts.

The move was widely criticized by local and international rights organizations, which expressed concern that defendants would not receive fair trials before military courts.

Around 4,330 civilians have been referred to military trials since the application of the law, according to an Anadolu Agency survey.