[A-List] EGYPT: Islamist MPs In the Dock

["Yoshie Furuhashi" <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>]

<http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37791>
EGYPT:
Islamist MPs In the Dock
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

CAIRO, May 18 (IPS) - In another escalation of the government's
ongoing campaign against the Islamist opposition, two MPs from the
Muslim Brotherhood were stripped of parliamentary immunity this month
after being briefly detained by police.

Forty of the group's leading members remain set to stand before a
military tribunal despite a judicial ruling against trying civilians
in military courts.

"By lifting the MPs' immunity, the regime confirmed its intention to
escalate the situation with the Muslim Brotherhood," Gamal Zahran,
spokesman for the independent bloc in parliament told IPS. "It was a
message to opposition of all stripes that the regime's
authoritarianism knows no limit."

On Apr. 29, police arrested the two parliamentarians, Ragab Abuzaid
and Sabri Aamer in the northern city of Menoufiya along with 12 other
members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The men were charged with
participating in a "secret planning meeting" and of possessing
"organisational documents".

Although Abuzaid and Aamer were released a day later, the detention of
sitting MPs -- who are supposed to enjoy parliamentary immunity from
arrest -- was highly unusual. The other 12 members of the group remain
in detention.

Banned since 1954, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood officially renounced
violence in the 1970s, and has confined its tactics to the political
arena ever since. But while the group remains formally proscribed, its
members can run as nominal independents in parliamentary elections.

The government raised the stakes May 9 when a parliamentary majority
voted to strip the two representatives of parliamentary immunity to
answer charges of "association with a banned group." While the Muslim
Brotherhood holds roughly one-fifth of the seats in the national
assembly, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of President
Hosni Mubarak controls most of the rest.

The move was condemned by Brotherhood and independent representatives
alike. "Stripping the two MPs of their immunity was little more than a
settling of scores with the Brotherhood in general and its
parliamentary bloc in particular," Saad al-Husseini, secretary-general
of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the assembly told IPS.

According to Zahran, the move showed up a parliamentary "double
standard" that has consistently worked to the advantage of the ruling
party.

"There have been several requests from the attorney-general to lift
the parliamentary immunity of NDP representatives accused of
corruption," he said. "But these have never come to anything."

Atef al-Banna, professor of constitutional law at Cairo University,
pointed out that the Egyptian Constitution guarantees citizens the
right to congregate privately, provided they are unarmed.

"The two MPs, along with the 12 others, didn't commit a crime,"
al-Banna told IPS. "I was surprised, therefore, about the decision to
strip their immunity, as they were simply congregating with their
constituents rather than doing anything illegal."

The Brotherhood suffered another blow this month when judicial
authorities upheld a presidential order issued in February referring
40 of the group's leading members to stand trial before a military
court. The trial, in which the men face charges of money laundering
and "financing the activities of a banned group", began late last
month.

On May 8, a Cairo administrative court ruled that the use of military
tribunals on civilians contravened both the Egyptian constitution as
well as international law. The administrative court judge further
demanded immediate release of the 40 defendants.

Six days later the Supreme Administrative Court -- the highest
administrative authority in the country -- overruled the earlier
verdict. The latter decision allows for resumption of the military
trial Jun. 3.

"The fact that the first court ruling calling for the release of these
men wasn't implemented only illustrates the regime's dictatorial style
and lack of respect for the constitution and law," said the
Brotherhood's al-Husseini.

According to al-Banna, the constitution clearly states that military
courts should only be employed in cases involving military personnel
or which have a military dimension.

"A lawsuit was filed in 1995 challenging the constitutionality of
referring civilians to military courts, although no ruling has ever
been issued on the matter," he explained. "But the practice is
prohibited according to most legal systems throughout the world."

The amendment earlier this year of Article 179 of the constitution
gave the President broad powers of arrest. These included the
authority to refer suspected "terrorists" to stand trial before
military tribunals.

Al-Banna, however, pointed out that the defendants had been referred
to the tribunal a month before the amendments were approved in a March
referendum.

"Article 179 doesn't apply here because the defendants were referred
to the military court before the article was amended," he said.
"What's more, the article refers to crimes that will be covered by
proposed anti-terrorism legislation, which might in the future be
applied to everyone."

The latest crackdown against the Islamist group began mid-December,
when a rally held by Brotherhood-affiliated students was depicted by
official media as the advent of an "Islamic militia". Since then, more
than 300 of the group's members have been arrested on various charges.
(END/2007)
--
Yoshie