Staggering postponement
A state security court defers the Liberation Party verdict until March. Jailan Halawi reports on the reaction in the courtroom
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After the delay, defendant Nisbett waves banner asking, "Do we treat Muslims as criminals"
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At 9am on Christmas day, the families of 23 Egyptians and three Britons standing trial before a state security court gathered to learn their beloved ones' fate.
Outside the courthouse, there were tell-tale signs that a major trial was taking place: the armoured vehicles stationed nearby, ready to take action at the slightest hint of disorder; and a cordon of policemen in a semi-circle outside the courtroom, only allowing the families of the British defendants, as well as lawyers and journalists, inside. Tens of the Egyptian defendant's families stood adjacent to the security cordon, unable to make their way in.
The defendants are being tried on charges of allegedly belonging to, and attempting to revive the activities of, a banned group -- Hizbul Tahrir, or the Islamic Liberation Party, which aims to obstruct the legal system, contravene the constitution and undermine state institutions.
Most of the defendants in the caged dock held copies of the holy Qur'an, and were murmuring verses while awaiting the judge's entrance, and announcement of the verdict. At 9:30am, judge Ahmed El-Ashmawi arrived. After calling out all of the suspects' names to make sure they were present, he announced that the verdict would be postponed until 25 March, and promptly left the room without offering an explanation for the delay. The three-month postponement follows a previous five-month delay announced in July.
"We believe today's postponement to be politically motivated. We've been jailed for almost two years while we are innocent," one of the British defendants, Maajid Nawaz, told Al-Ahram Weekly from behind the cage. "The judge had five months to study the case and yet he postponed without a reason."
The families of the British suspects burst into tears. Nawaz's mother Abi, who had flown from London to Cairo to be with her son during the verdict, had been feeling frustration, nervousness and apprehension minutes before the delay was announced. Following the verdict, she was in a state of shock and disbelief. "We were given reassurances by our government that the Egyptian authorities had confirmed that the verdict would be handed down on Thursday," Nawaz's mother said. "I cannot believe they have done that to us."
Abi said they had been warned of a possible postponement "but we did not want to believe it since we were reassured that this ordeal was going to be over."
British defendant Reza Pankhurst's mother Zara -- who had attended all the previous court sessions -- was outraged by the delay. "There is no justice in this country at all," she said as she stormed out of the courtroom. The Egyptian government "deserves to be pressured [by foreign countries] to apply justice", she said.
Pankhurst's wife Hodan described the delay as, "another form of pressure, abuse and punishment for a group of innocent people".
Third British defendant Ian Malcolm Nisbett's wife thought the delay had more to do with the recent attack on Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher in Jerusalem, which was blamed on members of a branch of the Liberation Party in Palestine. On Monday 22 December Maher was assaulted while visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem by a group of Palestinians believed to be members of the Liberation Party, who called him a traitor.
The court's decision to postpone the verdict also coincided with the arrests in Egypt of 80 people suspected of belonging to the Liberation Party. The suspects had previously been arrested in connection with the ongoing trial, but released due to a lack of evidence.
Islamist lawyer Montasser El-Zayat told the Weekly the current arrests are only "precautionary measures" taken by the Interior Ministry to avoid friction, since a verdict had been expected. He predicted that all 80 suspects would be released without being referred to prosecution.
The Liberation Party was founded in Egypt in 1974 by two Palestinians, Salem Rahhal and Saleh Serrya -- only to be crushed by Egyptian authorities in the same year after being blamed for an attempted coup d'etat known as "the incident of the Technical Military Academy", in which armed militants attacked the Cairo-based academy.
Although all three Britons did not deny belonging to the party -- which is lawful in the UK but banned in Egypt -- back home, they adamantly said they were not involved in any political activities in Egypt. All 23 of the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Inside the courtroom, Egyptian defendants speaking to the Weekly complained of being denied the right to see their families. Incredulous that their families had been prevented from attending the session, the defendants said officials should "extend part of the courtesy granted to our British brothers, and allow us to see our families, even if it's from behind bars".
A few minutes later the defendants were led out of the courtroom. As they marched towards the prison vehicles, they raised the copies of the Qur'an they were holding, and shouted, "There is no God but Allah and Mohamed is His prophet."
Families of the defendants standing outside the courtroom tried desperately to exchange a word or two with their relatives. As the scene turned chaotic, little children could be spotted trying to break through the security cordon and reach out for their fathers, who had been away for almost two years.
"There is no mercy or justice in the way this trial is being conducted," said the mother of one of the Egyptian defendants. "Our sons are being tried for their beliefs. They have not committed any violence, and no one is giving us a reason why their lives are being wasted behind bars."
Defendants could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Only the president can overturn state security court verdicts -- which cannot be appealed.
