(AA) – Egyptian prosecutors have referred 231 civilians to military trials on charges of “torching churches and Christian schools” in the central province of Minya in 2013.The prosecution has accused the 231 civilians of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood – the movement from which ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi hails – and staging acts of riots, including torching churches and public facilities in Minya, following the dispersal of two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in August of 2013.
Civil prosecutors are legally permitted to refer cases to the military prosecution, especially when it comes to vandalizing public properties.
Last year, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi approved a law that opened the door for referring violations against state institutions to military courts.
The move was widely criticized by local and international rights organizations, which expressed concern that defendants would not receive fair trials before military courts.Â
Around 3,940 civilians have been referred to military trials since the application of the law, according to an Anadolu Agency survey.
Since Morsi’s ouster by the military in the summer of 2013, Egypt’s government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent, which has largely targeted Morsi supporters and Muslim Brotherhood members.
The crackdown has seen hundreds killed and thousands thrown behind bars.
Morsi himself faces a wide range of charges, including espionage for Palestinian faction Hamas and the state of Qatar and inciting the killing of demonstrators in late 2012 when he was in office.
