36 military court capital cases referred to Egypt's Grand Mufti

Reuters reports from Cairo on an unusual -- perhaps unique -- aspect of Egyptian military court procedure:

A military court has referred 36 defendants accused of taking part in deadly church bombings to Egypt’s top religious authority for consideration of the death penalty, state television reported on Tuesday.

The defendants are suspected of involvement in bombings that hit three Coptic churches - one at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral in December 2016 that killed at least 25, and two that hit churches in Alexandria and Tanta on the same day in April 2017 and killed more than 45 people.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

Egypt requires that courts refer cases to the Grand Mufti for consideration of the death penalty ahead of a final verdict although his decision is non-binding.

Human rights jurisprudence requires that military courts, like other courts, be impartial and independent. Even though the Grand Mufti's decision is not binding, it casts a shadow over the independence of the military courts. One wonders how often the courts reject the Grand Mufti's decision.