International Rights Groups Slam Egypt’s MB Military Trials

International Rights Groups Slam Egypt’s MB Military Trials

On the sidelines of the Brussels-based popular court aimed to try Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for the war crimes committed in Lebanon , entitled “the trial of conscience”, the issue of sending Muslim brotherhood leaders to the military trial drew focus. During the event, held on Feb, 22nd- 24th, 2008, the Paris-based Arab Commission for Human Rights, held a seminar headed by Dr. Haitham Manaa, the well-known human rights activist and spokesman for the Arab Commission for Human Rights and it was attended by chairmen and members of human rights societies all over the world.
 
The trial of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) gained focus. Hassan Ezmil, a human rights activist in France, raised his eyebrows why there are attempts to sue Israel crimes and America for their crimes against the Arab countries while the Arab regimes aren’t sued for committing crimes against their peoples, citing cases of referring civilians to the military court in Egypt.
 
The talk gained more steam when Dr. Violit Dagher, chairperson of the Arab Commission for Human Rights detailed the harassments she faced and how she was repeatedly prevented from monitoring or attending the trial sessions of the MB detainees facing the trial. She also said that her companion engineer Khaled Hamza was arrested from the street after meeting her.
 
She highlighted the role played by human rights organizations for stopping these unjust trials in a bid to end referring civilians to the military court
 
For his part, Dr Abdul Fattah Hassan of the London-abased International Justice Center said that there is no difference between Bush”s crimes against humanity in Iraq , Sharon “s in Palestine and those crimes committed Arab regimes against Arab peoples.
 
Mohsen Radi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc, underscored holding such popular trials against any person or regime attacking human right and attempting to infringe on freedoms and properties.
 
He also suggested holding an international conference including human rights activists and organizations in a bid to forge an independent organization to speak in the name of peoples to restore their usurped rights and to present a legal document in this regard. He said also that the issues discussed should be of public concern and have common factors and that don”t lead to any discrimination between all citizens.
 
Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ati, the spokesman of the Release40 campaign that calls for releasing the MB leaders referred to the military tribunal. He asked why human rights organizations don”t have a role against regimes that use intimidation, smear campaigns and accusations of collaboration with foreign powers against critics while domestic thorny problems are ignored. He also spoke about the MB military case and how the Egyptian regime gave a deaf ear to three court rulings acquitting MB leaders in front of competent civilian judges.
 
The seminar witnessed a heavy human rights presence, including the Moroccan Khaled Sufiani of the Arab National Conference and Dr. Essam Al Noamani of the Arab Lawyers Union and Iraqi activist Dr. Al Gabouri, in addition to other Arab and International members of Parliament and media figures.
 
The MB campaign www.release40.com held along with the Arab Commission for Human Rights and Justice International a photo exhibition through which they detailed everything related to the military case and the Egyptian human rights situation in general.