198 alleged Muslim Brotherhood Members referred to Military Judiciary

Egypt’s acting Prosecutor General Ali Omran referred on Wednesday 198 alleged members of Muslim Brotherhood to military court for planning to target police officers and army officers in militant operations.

According to a statement issued by the Prosecutor General’s office, the alleged Brotherhood members were arrested after investigations into a series of attacks that took place during recent months in Gharbeya and Giza governorates.

The statement accused the alleged MB members of founding committees to target police and army officers as well as judges in terrorist attacks, among other charges.

The statement added that the nine Brotherhood members who were killed during a security raid in 6 October City, Giza by police forces earlier this month were part of those committees which planned to attack security forces.

The ministry of interior said that the nine members of the Brotherhood, who included lawyers, were killed during a raid on their hideout apartment. Intelligence information revealed that the group was planning to carry out “terrorist” attacks around the date of the second anniversary of the 30 June mass protests that led to the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The officers shot the men after they opened fire on them while attempting to escape, according to the ministry of interior.

The now-banned Brotherhood, which has been blamed by the government for orchestrating terrorist attacks against security forces in the last two years, denied that the men were armed.

The Muslim was designated as a terrorist organisation by the government in late 2013.

Hundreds of civilian cases have been referred to military courts since the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak. The practice has faced strong opposition from rights campaigners and pro-democracy advocates.

Military courts in Egypt are believed to process cases faster than civilian ones.

source:Ahram online