Amnesty condemns Egypt military summons of activists

Amnesty International condemned the Egyptian military’s summons of two activists in a press statement released last night. The summons of Alaa Abdel Fattah and Bahaa Saber “is a warning that Egypt’s armed forces are cracking down on criticism,” Amnesty said in its statement. Amnesty quoted Egypt’s No Military Trials group as saying 28 civilians, including three minors, have been changed in the deadly October 9 Maspiro clashes that left 27 dead earlier this month. “The military justice system should never be used to investigate or prosecute civilians,” said Amnesty. It added that military courts “deprive defendants of basic fair trial guarantees.” Today, Alaa and Bahaa were remanded into custody before the military prosecution for 15 days for investigation. In conclusion, Amnesty called “for the investigation into the Maspiro violence to be conducted by a truly independent body.”