Egypt: Military trials of fishermen an affront to justice
Amnesty International and the Sinai Human Rights Foundation said Egyptian authorities must stop driving civilians in military courts, an expected verdict on February 12 to fish with North Sinai Lake during a military trial of five civilians on February 12, Agents that control the Ministry of Defense by the development project.
From January 6 to 7, the military police department from the Egyptian Future Sustainable Development Agency (EFSDA) arrested five fishermen in Lake Bardaville. Military prosecutors investigated the “ban period” and the allegations of fishing in the military zone without permission. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi placed the lake in the lake in the military jurisdiction of 2019, a group of about 3,500 fishermen. Fishing location.
“It’s a terror, a group of fishermen find themselves facing a military trial of fishing in the lake without authorization. Trialing civilians in military courts is a blatant violation of Egypt’s international human rights obligations. Military authorities must immediately file charges against five men and Release them. They must be tried by an independent and impartial civil court in litigation proceedings that meet the international standards of due process and fair trials.
“After a serious unfair trial, Egypt’s military courts have a notorious history of convictions and sentences that convicts and sentences, including death penalty. Authorities must overhaul legislation to ensure that the military courts have no jurisdiction over civilians under any circumstances. .
Fishermen in their twenties are facing two separate military trials. Amnesty International and SFHR reviewed copies of the arrest report, prosecution report and fees for both trials. The organizations also spoke with attorneys attending the hearing, employees of two official agencies responsible for lake management, and relatives of detainees.
The trial was damaged by a violation of the guarantee of a fair trial. According to a lawyer, on January 28, the defendant’s lawyers filed a request to cross-examine the witnesses indicted, but the court ignored their request. The court also held two hearings on February 5 and 6, with no defendant present.
Currently, all five detainees are held by the Central Security Forces and operated under the Ministry of Interior of the Ismarian Security Forces camp, which is not officially recognized as a detention center.
Five defendants have tried the protection and development of lakes and fisheries under Law No. 146 of 2021, which provides for the Cabinet-related Lake Protection and Fish Wealth Development Authority (LPFWDA), responsible for determining the period or period of the period or Which type of fishing is prohibited during the period. Under the law, fishing during an injunction or in a prohibited area is a crime and may be imposed on a prison term of six months to two years and/or a fine between 10,000 EGP and 100,000 EGP.
In 2022, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi established the EFSDA through Act No. 591 of 2022, which has never been made public. Since then, the government has allocated several large projects to the agency, including development projects in Southern Egypt and North Sinai. Local media.
On October 31, 2024, a government spokesperson announced that EFSDA will start the development of Lake Bardawil to achieve
An official said, “The economic development of the lake” statement by the Council of Ministers. The lake has previously been supervised by LPFWDA, which is under the supervision of law to oversee lakes across the country. Two LPFWDA employees told Amnesty International and SFHR that EFSDA has fully controlled the supervision of the lake since the government announced it.
The civilian military trial in Egypt is inherently unfair because all military court personnel, from judges to prosecutors, are serving military members who report to the Minister of Defense and do not provide the necessary training for the rule of law or the standard of fair trial. The ruling of the military court should also be appealed in the superior military court and approved by the president.
On January 28, 2024, the Egyptian Parliament approved a new amendment to Law No. 25 of the Military Justice Code, further extending the jurisdiction of the military court to prosecution of civilians. New amendments to increase military jurisdiction include “crimes against public and important facilities and public property and other comparable things that are protected by the armed forces”. The presidential approval of the amendment was never published in the official communiqué.
The amendments are in line with the enactment of Law No. 3 of 2024, which ratified President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on February 5, 2024, which expanded the provision of civilians The offence of military jurisdiction is greater than the offence in the amendment to the Military Code mentioned earlier in the Parliament. The law authorizes the military to assist police in protecting public and important facilities and “services” and addressing crimes against them, including “destroying the basic needs of society, including food commodities and necessities.”
Distributed by Apo Group on behalf of Amnesty International.
