Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

MB deputy chairman Al-Shater victim of Egypt 's deliberate litigation procedures

The Egyptian Group for Human Rights and Law has condemned the Supreme Constitutional Court which has so far failed to adjudicate the constitutionality of the President's decision to refer civilians to military courts.

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 The Egyptian Group for Human Rights and Law has condemned the Supreme Constitutional Court which has so far failed to adjudicate the constitutionality of the President's decision to refer civilians to military courts. They described the Muslim Brotherhood military tribunal hostage's deputy Chairman Khairat Al-Shater and his fellows as victims of the slow pace of litigation.

In its statement, which Ikhwanweb received a copy of, they indicated that the court's negligence of appeals submitted by hostages increases the qualms over the highest judicial power's compliance with a certain political direction preventing decisions against police arbitrariness regarding civilians being referred to military tribunal. The statement stressed that

 "The Supreme Administrative Court rejected the government's earlier appeal on a judgment issued in favor of Khairat Al-Shater and his brothers stipulating that the president is not entitled to refer civilians to military tribunals".

The Court responded that;

 

 "It has been decided to suspend the  examining of a proposal submitted by the Government so as to judge in a pending appeal before the Supreme Constitutional Court since 1995 (No. 72/ 7 jurisdiction over the Article 6, which authorizes the President to refer civilians to military trials".

The group stressed that political rivalry has become disabled by legal procedures defending rights of imprisoned opposition politicians. It demanded the government stop the politicization of law order and called on it to end its use of it as a tool to settle personal scores with political opponents and respect the judiciary's independence. The organization also called for the amendment of the Code of Military Justice of 1966 (Law No. 25) to be limited for military personnel only.

 

Rights group called on the Supreme Constitutional Court to quickly consider the case and reiterated that referring the civilian offences to a military court poses a grave threat to ordinary courts, which should impose its authority upon crimes committed by citizens as this represents a flagrant violation against the right of defendants to appear before the traditional judge.

 

The statement concluded its call adding it was a violation to the right of all Egyptians and independence of the judiciary to perform its entrusted duties.