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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Military courts to try Brothers
By Jailan HalawiThe government referred 20 suspected members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to military prosecutors on Monday, nearly two weeks after they were arrested in the biggest crackdown on the group in four years. The accused, charged with "disseminating the ideas of the banned group, endangering security and attempting to infiltrate and control various political organisations," include Moukhtar Nouh, a prominent Islamist lawyer and a former treasurer of the Bar Association and member of parliament.
Meanwhile the defence team is examining the possibility of filing an appeal contesting the president's decision to put the defendants on trial before a military court, "thus depriving them of their right to be tried by a civil judge.", arguing that the "charges pressed against the defendants are not of a military nature." Sentences handed down by military courts cannot be appealed and are only subject to ratification by the president.
Under the emergency laws in force since 1981 the president is empowered to order military trials in cases related to national security.
In 1995, the Cairo Supreme Military Court sentenced 52 Brotherhood leaders to sentences of up to five years hard labour, on charges of running an organisation opposed to the state's constitution and laws. The treasurer of the Doctors' Syndicate, Essam El-Erian, was one of the most prominent figures put on trial, along with Mohamed El-Sayed Habib, head of the Assiut University Staff Club. This was the first such action to be taken against prominent Brotherhood figures since 1965, when a number of leading Brotherhood members, including the organisation's ideologue, Sayed Qutb, were condemned to death.
Representatives of opposition and human rights groups as well as prominent Islamist figures charged that putting members of the Brotherhood before military courts constituted "a serious threat to freedom of expression and a denial of the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of citizens."
The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) issued a statement condemning the government's decision. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Hafez Abu Se'da, secretary-general of the EOHR, said that the organisation vehemently denounced the placing of civilians before military courts. "We do not consider these [military courts] to be [proper] courts because they are not independent from the military and are under the supervision of the defence minister. Those detained will be denied the right to a fair trial," he said.
Government officials argue that members of the outlawed Brotherhood were referred to military prosecutors after evidence emerged that they were involved in illegal activities against the state. They are charged with "running the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, in violation of the provisions of the constitution and the law, with the objective of suspending those provisions."
Officials say the organisation maintains branches in various governorates and its leaders have held secret meetings to attract new recruits to their anti-constitutional agenda.
Brotherhood spokesman Ma'moun El-Hodeibi, meanwhile, claimed that the decision to refer the group's members to military prosecutors shows that the authorities are keen to prevent the Brotherhood from contesting the elections of professional syndicates.
The campaign in support of the defendants has been joined by the leftist Tagammu Party, known to have sharp differences with the outlawed Brotherhood.
In a short statement issued this week the Tagammu reiterated calls for the president to reverse his decision on the grounds that civilians should not be placed under the jurisdiction of military courts. The statement also called for the immediate release of those arrested and the repeal of the emergency law.
The Brotherhood's victory in the Bar Association elections in 1992 coincided with the start of the violent anti-government campaign by Islamist militants that has left more than 1,200 people dead.
Many commentators believe the government's action is prompted by fears that the group is attempting to reassert its influence over the syndicates.
