Issue No.588
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30 May - 5 June 2002 Issue No.588 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Brothers kept on hold
The Supreme Military Court has again postponed the sentencing of leading Muslim Brotherhood figures charged with reviving the activities of the outlawed group, reports Khaled Dawoud
Lawyers representing the 22 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on trial said that the Supreme Military Court's decision on Sunday to postpone the rulings again, confirmed their claim that the case was "political." The new scheduled date is 30 July.
The leading Brotherhood figures were arrested in November amid renewed protests in Egypt supporting the Palestinian Intifada. Security bodies held the Brotherhood responsible for a series of small demonstrations that took place at Al-Azhar Mosque after a period of relative calm.
The 22 defendants were accused of "seeking to revive the activities of the outlawed group," and "plotting to take over power." These are the traditional charges that prosecutors have been making ever since the end of the "honeymoon" between the government and the Brotherhood in 1995.
But the defendants, mostly university professors, were also charged with "exploiting the ongoing political events in the region to incite students to take part in anti-government protests." Among the top defendants arrested in this case is Mahmoud Ghozlan, a man whom Brotherhood members described as number three in the group's leadership, after Mustafa Mashhour, the supreme guide, and his deputy Maamoun El-Hodeibi. Ghozlan was referred to as the Brotherhood's secretary-general, responsible for organisational, as well as, financial affairs.
After the trial started in December, the case proceeded with astonishing speed. These measures are aimed at "deterring militant violence", according to the official record. After several long sessions, the presiding military judge, whose name cannot be mentioned for security reasons, set 7 April to issue his sentences.
On 29 March, Israel reoccupied the entire West Bank, held Palestinian President Yasser Arafat under siege and committed horrific atrocities against civilians. Demonstrations and heated protests rocked nearly all of Egypt's cities. The Brotherhood were involved in these protests, especially in Alexandria, which witnessed some of the largest demonstrations and is known to be a Brotherhood stronghold.
The first postponment of the sentencing date to 25 May was taken by Brotherhood members and lawyers as an indication of the Court's taking into account the "sensitivity" of the mood on the street. "But this time around I cannot understand why he [the judge] decided to postpone the verdicts till the end of July," Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, a spokesman for the legal team defending the Brotherhood members on trial, said. "The situation in Palestine is now a lot quieter, and I can see no reason to postpone the verdicts again," he added.
Abdel-Maqsoud offered a pessimistic explanation for the second postponement. In his view, it could only mean "that no one will be acquitted, and that the majority of the defendants would receive jail terms."
Early on Sunday morning, scores of family members, lawyers, journalists and foreign diplomats gathered in front of the entrance of the Haikstep military camp to attend what was hoped to be the sentencing session. The fact that the 22 defendants were not brought in to court till late morning increased the feeling among those standing outside that the verdicts would be postponed again. Yet, the fact that they were searched by police and escorted in buses to the courtroom inside the camp made the situation even more confusing. At 11am, the military judge arrived under heavy security protection. It only took a few minutes before he announced the decision to postpone the verdicts. Most of the crowd were visibly disappointed.
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