Egypt refers 216 civilians to military court

A prosecutor in Upper Egypt’s Beni Suef, judge Tamer Al-Khatib, has referred 216 anti-regime protesters in the towns of Wasta, Samasta and Ihnasia to a military court. They are charged with being involved in an outbreak of violence in the aftermath of the army’s dispersal of two pro-Morsi demonstrations in August 2013. This takes the number of civilians referred to an army court in Beni Suef alone to 474.

According to one judicial source, the 216 are “Muslim Brotherhood supporters and leaders”, and were referred to the military court for burning police stations and government facilities, and the attempted murder of a police officer, following the military coup two years ago.

On 24 May, public prosecutors referred 258 anti-regime activists to a military court in the west of Cairo. On Monday, the court held the second sessions of the trials of opponents of the coup government.