The uprisings of the Arab spring sparked many transformations in the Middle East. One of these was the establishment of Egyptian military control over the government, after the toppling of the Hosni Mubarak regime. The military gained control of all aspects of the government, including the courts and the legislation, as the country transitioned to a new, democratically elected government. While an ideal military should be upheld with the utmost integrity and accountability, there have been many cases where the Egyptian military has failed to live up to those standards.
So far, the Egyptian military is accused of violating multiple human rights standards and mistreating civilians, including women. According to Human Rights Watch, women have experienced terrible abuse at the hands of the military and, “The military has failed to investigate and punish credible claims of other instances of violence by its members against women.” One such violation allegedly occurred in March 2011 when, according to Human Rights Watch and the first hand accounts of five women, multiple women underwent “virginity testing,” in which certain military officials used their fingers to examine the women’s hyman, while detained in a military prison. There were witnesses to this event and the women accused the military officials shortly after being released, but it took nine months for military prosecutors to bring this case to court.
Court proceedings started in August 2011, and Human Rights Watch described the events inside the court as follows:
“The military prosecutor summoned no witnesses for the prosecution to establish the charges under which he had referred the case to court, nor did he challenge apparently factually inconsistent testimony by defense witnesses. Despite clear statements from senior military leaders that the incident had taken place, the trial did not examine who, and at what rank, ordered the tests.”
“The military prosecutor summoned no witnesses for the prosecution to establish the charges under which he had referred the case to court, nor did he challenge apparently factually inconsistent testimony by defense witnesses. Despite clear statements from senior military leaders that the incident had taken place, the trial did not examine who, and at what rank, ordered the tests.”
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, responded to these court proceedings and said “The verdict in the ‘virginity’ tests’ trial is just one more example of the military’s failure to punish gross abuses against women and a reminder that the military justice system lacks the fundamental independence to remedy human rights abuses by the military.” Cases such as these, along with others like the beating and torture of women demonstrators in March and December of 2011, highlight the inability for the military court to act as a true and independent establishment of justice.
Commentators question whether military or civilian courts should be in charge of prosecuting military member and Whitson agrees, saying, “Civilian courts, not military courts, should be in charge of prosecuting the military for their ongoing abuses against civilians.” This will be a long and tedious process, however, since Egypt remains in a state of turmoil and the military maintains control of the majority of the country.
Egyptian civilians are stepping up for this cause as well. A group called “No Military Trials for Civilians,” also known as NMTC, created a blog that provides testimonials from Egyptian citizens who were abused by Egyptian military officials during the revolution. They urge civilian victims to share personal accounts of military abuse and call on the international community to help their cause to end military trials for civilians.
Efforts like these are the right track to achieving justice in Egypt. As the NMTC writes, “We believe that ending the military trials of civilians is a key requirement on the road to freedom and democracy.”
