http://www.amnesty.org/en/node/29251
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Like thousands of Egyptians, Amr Abdallah Al-Beheiry is waiting for justice.
One year after the “25 January Revolution”, it seems further away than ever.
Last February, military police and soldiers beat Amr Abdallah Al-Beheiry up and arrested him at a protest in Cairo. Days later, a military court sentenced him to five years in prison for assaulting a public officer and breaking the curfew. Amr Abdallah Al-Beheiry had no chance of a fair trial. His hearing lasted just minutes. The court didn’t allow his family or lawyer into the room. Instead, it chose its own lawyer to defend him. Now, a military appeals court has said Amr Abdallah Al-Beheiry will be retried – by another military court.
As for Maikel Nabil Sanad, he is in jail for criticizing the army. The blogger, who is considered by Amnesty International to be a prisoner of conscience, had his three-year sentence reduced to two years after a retrial before a military court. He was imprisoned in April for criticising the post-Mubarak military authorities on his Facebook page and for supposedly “spreading lies and rumours about the armed forces” on his blog.
Military courts can’t deliver justice.
Egypt’s military courts violate basic human rights, like the right to a fair trial and the right to appeal to a higher tribunal. Since the uprising, they have tried 12,000 and convicted an estimated 8,000 ordinary Egyptians for crimes like “thuggery” or “breaking curfew”. Sentences range from a few months to years in prison. They have even sentenced people to death.
Enough with the hollow promises of Egypt’s military rulers to stop such trials. It’s time to call on them to put a stop to unfair trials once and for all
TAKE ACTION
Call on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to end military trials of civilians.
Dear Field Marshal Muhammad Tantawi,
I call on the SCAF to end military trials of civilians:
- Stop trying civilians before military courts;
- Immediately and unconditionally release any one detained solely for criticising the army and for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly;
- Release those facing trial before military courts or transfer ongoing cases to civilian courts for a new trial, in proceedings that meet international standards for fair trial and without recourse to the death penalty;
- Order fair re-trials for others already convicted by military courts or release them.
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