Friday, February 8, 2019

Egypt's military courts

Egypt has tried thousands of civilians in military courts. Now there is a proposal to amend the Constitution to expand the power of those courts. According to this account, "The current constitution stipulates that civilians will be tried before military courts when there is 'a direct assault' on military personnel. The new change will remove the word 'direct.' This slight change greatly expands the military’s constitutional rights against civilians."

Human rights norms strongly disfavor the trial of civilians by military courts. Egypt is a persistent violator of that principle.

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