page_title: Human rights in Egypt under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
section_title: Military trials
hierarchical_section_title: Human rights in Egypt under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces / Military trials
caption_attribution_description: English: A SCAF's cave man accusing a Jan. 25th youth (Loai Nagati) of being thug
context_page_description: Human rights in the post-Mubarak transition have been the subject of concern and controversy since the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Arabic: المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة‎, al-Maǧlis al-ʾAʿlā lil-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah in particular have been the focus of concerns about human rights violations. The SCAF, which consists of a body of 20 senior officers in the Egyptian military, was handed the power to govern Egypt after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011 as a consequence of the revolution.
context_section_description: From January 28, 2011 when the military replaced the police in patrolling streets in Egypt, to September 10, 2011 some 12,000 civilians have been arrested and brought before military tribunals—more than the total number of civilians who faced military trials during the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Of the 11,879 civilians tried tribunals convicted 8,071, including 1,836 suspended sentences. 1,225 more convictions are awaiting ratification by the military.  Only 795 were acquitted.
  Before the revolution, military trials were reserved for high-profile political cases, such as the 2008 conviction of the former deputy guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat el-Shater; cases in which the defendants had been arrested in a military zone such as the Sinai; or civilians who had criticized the military.
  According to Human Rights Watch, proceedings in Egypt's military courts, lack "basic due process rights and do not satisfy the requirements of independence and impartiality of courts of law". Defendants "usually do not have access to counsel of their own choosing and judges do not respect the rights of defense. Judges in the military justice system "do not enjoy the independence to ignore instructions by superiors" because they "subject to a chain of command".
  Among the civilians who were tried include Amr El Beheiry, was arrested during a violent military dispersal of a sit-in at the parliament on 26 February. He was then referred to military court and after a swift trial without the presence of an attorney, and received a sentence of five years on thuggery charges despite the testimonies of many eyewitnesses who said he broke no laws. Amnesty International also has called for Beheiry's release.
  Another activist that has been detained is Loai Nagati. The We Are All Khaled Said Facebook page said: "Loai Nagati is a 21 years old Egyptian Activist who got arrested during Tahrir protests yesterday morning. As it has become the norm now, Loai has been sent to 15 days in a military jail awaiting a military investigation! Loai didn't have a lawyer, has no clear accusation against him & is a computer science student. He is a civilian & shouldn't be investigated by military prosecuters. End military trials of civilians in Egypt NOW! 45 protesters have been arrested so far during Tahrir protests on 28 June night & 29 June morning. All sent to military trials." An active Tweeter, Nagati was Tweeting (@LoaiNagati) from Tahrir Square about what was taking place when he was arrested. "Several people are injured," was the last tweet by Nagati at 7 am on Wednesday. Nagati is to be detained for 15 days and was transferred on 29 June to military prison pending a military trial. Nagati has a heart condition as well as digestive problems which require 10 different medications, and after some struggle, an officer who works at the prison agreed to the transfer of the medication to Nagati.
  Asmaa Mahfouz was arrested on charges of defaming the Egyptian military junta for calling them a "council of dogs". She was referred to a military court, prompting activists, as well as presidential hopefuls such as Mohamed ElBaradei and Ayman Nour, to protest her being charged in a military court. Mahfouz was released on bail in the amount of 20,000 Egyptian Pounds, equivalent to approximately 3,350 US dollars.
caption: "A SCAF's cave man accusing a Jan. 25th youth (Loai Nagati) of being thug", by Carlos Latuff, 2011