Egyptian military court throws 58 civilians behind bars

By Walaa Wahid

CAIRO

An Egyptian military court slapped 58 civilians with jail terms -- including two minors -- for "establishing committees aimed at hindering state institutions and terrorizing civilians", according to an Egyptian legal source.

A lawyer for one of the defendants -- who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to security concerns -- said 31 civilians had been sentenced to jail with hard labor for terms ranging from three to 25 years.

The remaining 27 defendants, he said, had received life sentences after being tried in absentia.

The sentences can still be appealed in higher courts, the source added.

In 2014, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi decreed that Egyptian public institutions would be legally regarded as "military institutions".

This means that alleged perpetrators of attacks on state institutions -- including civilians -- would henceforth be tried by military courts.

In many cases, the law was applied retroactively.

An end to the longstanding practice of trying civilians in military courts had been a major demand of protesters during -- and after -- Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power.