Egypt: 439 refered to military tribunal
Egypt's top prosecutor on Dec. 13 referred 439 individuals to a military tribunal for the killing of three police officers last year. The group was composed of about 139 Islamists from the southern province of Minya and 300 from the Nile Delta province of Beheira. The prosecutor's case was based on the violence last year in response to a dispersal by police of an Islamist sit-in. The prosecutor's case is part of a program that Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi started last year in which the military is to join with police to protect state interests, and anyone involved in attacks against state facilities is to be prosecuted by military tribunals. Human Rights Watch stated that these military tribunals "lack even the shaky due process guarantees provided by regular courts."
From Jurist, Dec. 14. Used with permission.
Egypt court sentences 40 Morsi supporters
An Egyptian court on Dec. 18 convicted 40 supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi for committing violence last year in the wake of Morsi's ousting by the Egyptian military. The group of Islamists were found guilty by a criminal court of burning churches, shops and police stations in the southern city of Assiut. Two of the defendants were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The rest were given sentences ranging from one to 10 years, and 61 were acquitted. According to the BBC, 1,400 people have been killed in the government crackdown against opposition since summer of 2013.
From Jurist, Dec. 19. Used with permission.