Egypt’s top prosecutor referred on Tuesday five civilians to the military judiciary on charges related to committing acts of violence.
Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat approved the decision of the Damietta Prosecutor General to refer the five defendants to the military prosecution. They are all believed to be supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
The defendants are charged with joining an illegal organisation, inciting violence, stalling public facilities, resisting the authorities and protesting without a permit.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued on October 27 a new law which refers crimes committed against the state's public and "vital" facilities to the military judiciary.
The law, criticised by human rights organisations for expanding the jurisdicition of military tribunals on civilians, was passed shortly after the death of at least 33 security personnel in militant attacks in Sinai on October 24.
The legislation authorises armed forces personnel to cooperate with the police in securing "vital" facilities. It is valid for two years.
The law can be applied on cases which have not yet been referred to court, even if the events took place before the law’s issuance.
Earlier in December, the Egyptian prosecution referred 439 defendants to the military judiciary over violence which followed the deadly dispersal of two pro-Mohamed Mursi camps in August 2013.
Article 204 of Egypt's new constitution already allows referring civilians to military trials "in cases which represent a direct assault on armed forces institutions, their camps or anything that falls under their authority, alongside assaults on military or border zones, and military institutions, vehicles, weapons, ammunition, documents, secrets, public funds, or factories."
The article was strongly condemned by civil society organisations and a number of political movements before the constitution passed.
No Military Trials for Civilians, a group campaigning against referring civilians to military tribunals, has rallied protests against this article as well as previous legislations which allow the military trial of civilians.
