Stop military trial of journo, Egypt told
2013-01-08 14:38
Cairo - Advocacy group Amnesty International has called for
the release of an Egyptian journalist facing military trial under a
controversial law that allows the army to court-martial civilians.
The army arrested Mohamed Sabry, a freelance video
journalist and an activist who opposed military trials, in the eastern Sinai
peninsula while he was working on a story for the Reuters news agency, Amnesty
International said.
Sabry, detained on Friday, has been charged with trespassing
and filming in a military zone, the rights group said in a statement on Monday.
A new constitution approved in a referendum last month
allows the military to try civilians suspected of "harming" the armed
forces, a controversial clause that critics say can be used to stifle freedom
of speech.
"It is particularly worrying that a journalist seems to
be facing an unfair trial by military court simply for carrying out his
work," said Amnesty International's Middle East deputy director Hassiba
Hadj Sahraoui.
"The charges against Mohamed Sabry must be dropped
immediately," she said in the statement.
More than 12 000 civilians were tried by military courts
during interim army rule between February 2011, when an uprising overthrew
president Hosni Mubarak, and June 2012, when the ruling generals handed power
to a new president, the group added.
The military has retained powers under the new constitution,
reflecting its clout over decades in which every president emerged from its
ranks before the election of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in June.
Sabry was reporting on a new military decree imposing
restrictions on land ownership in the Sinai Peninsula.
The peninsula, bordering Israel and Gaza, has become a haven
for smugglers and Islamist militants who target security forces.
