On April 18, in Heikstep, an Egyptian military court...

On April 18, in Heikstep, an Egyptian military court sentenced to death 9 of 107 defendants in the biggest trial of Muslim militants since those which followed the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat. All the defendants, except one, were accused of belonging to the Jihad group. Jihad is one of several militant groups that launched an armed struggle against President Hosni Mubarak's secular rule in 1992. In court, the convicted chanted: "There is no God but Allah" and "Islamic Revolution." All were dressed in white prison uniforms except Ahmed el-Naggar, handed over to Egypt by Albania in 1998, who wore a red one as he was already on death row after an earlier trial. Twenty defendants were acquitted, another 11 men received life terms, and the rest lesser sentences. At least 60, including all 9 condemned to death, were tried in absentia. The 9 sentenced to death include Jihad leader Ayman Zawahri, said to be in Afghanistan, and his brother Mohammed. Among the 11 given life sentences was London-based Yasser el-Serri, already condemned to death in his absence for a 1993 attempt on the life of former Prime Minister Atef Sedki. They also included Naggar, Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, handed over to Egypt by Kuwait, and Hani el-Seba'i, now detained for immigration violations in London.Relatives denied access to the courtroom at the Heikstep military base just outside Cairo, wailed when they learned of the verdicts, which cannot be appealed. Several women fainted.Defense lawyers and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights criticized the trial outcome and observed in its report that there had been "a number of violations against defendants during the interrogation and trial." The organization condemned the practice of trying civilians in military courts. Defense lawyer Muntasser el-Zayyat said: "The verdicts are very harsh... and will strengthen the state of violence." Sa'ad Hasaballah said: "The verdicts on the accused are very tough, particularly since there was no proof against them." Only Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri, acting as military ruler under the emergency laws, can quash or ask for the re-examination of sentences delivered by military or state security courts.