Human Rights Organizations: Right to Return for North Sinai Residents is Fundamental, and Military Trials are invalid

The signatories condemn in the strongest terms the harsh and unjust sentences issued by a military court on Saturday, December 14, 2024, against 62 civilians from North Sinai, including tribal leaders, activists, and journalists. These sentences—ranging from 3 to 10 years of imprisonment—stem from calls for largely peaceful protests demanding the right to return to their lands from which they were forcibly displaced. These verdicts, issued in Case No. 80 of 2023 by the Ismailia Military Court, mark a significant escalation in the Egyptian authorities’ policies towards forcibly displaced residents. These policies continue to disregard human rights, first and foremost the right to return to their lands and the right to a fair trial before an ordinary court, away from exceptional courts that lack fundamental guarantees of justice.

The signatories stated: “Sentencing individuals to years of imprisonment for a largely peaceful protest demanding the legitimate right of Sinai residents to return is invalid as it’s issued by a military court and criminalizes peaceful protest. The excessive severity of these sentences reflects the authoritarian approach in dealing with Sinai residents.”

The military court sentenced Sheikh Saber Hamad Al-Sayah, a prominent leader of the Remailat tribe, to 7 years in prison. His two sons, Abdelrahman and Youssef, were sentenced to 10 years and 3 years, respectively. Additionally, 11 individuals were sentenced to 7 years, 41 others to 3 years, and 7 individuals to 10 years in absentia, including prominent journalists, Hussein Al-Qaim, a journalist at Al-Watan newspaper, and Abdulqader Mubarak, a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate.

Four days following the issuance of the verdicts, Major General Mamdouh Jaafar, Commander of the Second Field Army, formally ratified all judgments rendered by the Ismailia Military Court on Wednesday, December 18, without introducing any amendments to the prescribed sentences.

On December 6, 2024, a group of UN experts—including the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Special Rapporteurs on peaceful assembly, internal displacement, and human rights in counterterrorism contexts—published a letter sent to the Egyptian authorities on October 7, 2024. In this letter, they expressed grave concern regarding the military trials of civilians in this case, highlighting violations of the right to a fair trial under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). They called for immediate measures to halt such violations and prevent their recurrence.

The roots of the case date back to August 2023, coinciding with the 10-year mark since the forcible displacement of residents from Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid during counterterrorism operations. In August, Rafah residents staged an open sit-in to demand their right to return. The Commander of the Second Field Army, Major General Mohamed Rabie, promised their return by October 2023—a promise that was not fulfilled. On October 23, 2023, hundreds of North Sinai residents, primarily from the Remailat and Sawarka tribes, protested again near the villages of Al-Wefaq and Al-Mahdiya (near Rafah) and Al-Zuwara’a village (south of Sheikh Zuweid), urging the authorities to honor their commitments. The army forcibly dispersed the protest, arrested several demonstrators, and subsequently launched a campaign of home raids, as documented by eyewitnesses.

The authorities alleged that protesters threw stones at army personnel, causing damage estimated at EGP 10,000 (approximately $200 USD) to three civilian army vehicles and injuring one soldier in the face. Despite the protest being largely peaceful, the military court convicted all defendants, and even in the case of the valid damage, the ruling was not proportional at any level. In addition to that, the court’s ruling failed to establish individual criminal responsibility, as is the custom of mass unjust trials before military courts.

The forced displacement of North Sinai residents since 2013 constitutes a clear violation of Article 63 of the Egyptian Constitution, which prohibits forced displacement under any form, deeming it a crime not subject to a statute of limitations. Additionally, it breaches Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits the forcible transfer of populations during military operations, except under strict security necessities, after exploiting all other measures and with guarantees for their return once temporary causes are resolved. Although President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi declared the end of military operations in Sinai in April 2022, the region remains effectively a military zone, with no serious steps taken to ensure the residents’ return to their lands. Instead, authorities continue to undermine their rights, offering only repeated promises of return while ignoring legitimate demands for fair compensation for their destroyed homes and lands which were bulldozed and destroyed.

Eyewitnesses reported the excessive and unjustified use of violence by the army against those who demanded their return, including the use of live ammunition to disperse protesters, arbitrary arrests, and physical assaults. Reports include the deliberate ramming of a protester’s car by a military vehicle, causing severe head injuries and his loss of consciousness.

Under Article 73 of the Egyptian Constitution, citizens have the right to organize peaceful demonstrations without arbitrary restrictions. The ICCPR, ratified by Egypt, also guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. The Egyptian authorities’ excessive use of force and arbitrary detention of protesters is a direct violation of these constitutional and international guarantees.

Over the past decade, the armed forces have committed numerous violations against civilians in North Sinai under the claim of counterterrorism, including demolishing thousands of homes and extensive agricultural lands, especially in Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and Arish cities. These operations displaced approximately 150,000 residents to other cities within the province or across the country, in addition to the complete destruction of the town of Rafah.

Case No. 80/2023 has been marred by numerous legal and procedural violations. Documents reviewed by rights organizations reveal a lack of judicial authorization for arrests or searches grounded in legitimate justification, except for Sheikh Saber – a prominent leader of the Remailat tribe – who had authorization for his arrest. The remaining defendants were apprehended without judicial authorization or valid legal grounds and in the absence of in flagrante delicto situations, contravening Article 30 of the Criminal Procedures Code. Furthermore, investigative records contained no field inspections or eyewitness testimonies linking the defendants to the alleged acts. At the same time, the court failed to hear the defendants’ testimonies before issuing its rulings. The Prosecution and the court did not hear the testimony of the officers who conducted the arrests or the authors of the investigation reports upon which the prosecution relied for its evidence, up until the issuance of the verdict against the defendants.

The case documents reveal that defendants were also held in unofficial detention facilities, before, during and after interrogation, subjected to physical abuse, and ill-treatment, violating Article 54 of the Egyptian Constitution, which guarantees humane treatment and protection from torture. Lawyers reported that many defendants were denied family visits or external communication. The court disregarded all defense requests in the case, including the request to question arresting officers or view surveillance and arrest reports.

The evidence included in the case files, according to the investigations, is extremely weak and contains no information confirming the defendants’ involvement in the alleged crimes. The defense also highlighted discrepancies in the technical reports, with inconsistencies among them regarding the assessment of the alleged damages to military vehicles. Notably, no on-site inspection of the incident location was conducted. As for witness testimonies, the files lacked any eyewitness accounts implicating the defendants in the alleged incidents. Furthermore, the court ignored defense requests to summon witnesses or present new evidence. Defense attorneys were only able to review the full case file one day before the hearing on December 9, 2024, which significantly hindered their ability to prepare their arguments.

The expansion of the military courts’ jurisdiction to try civilians constitutes a clear violation of Article 204 of the 2014 Constitution, which stipulates that civilians may only be tried before military courts in cases involving direct attacks on military facilities or armed forces camps. Military trials for civilians also violate the right to a fair trial, as guaranteed under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which ensures every individual the right to appear before an independent and impartial tribunal. Military courts lack safeguards that allow defendants to fairly defend themselves, fully access and challenge evidence, and summon witnesses. Additionally, the procedural framework governing appeals and challenges against military felony judgments remains ambiguous. It is worth noting that, in January 2024, the House of Representatives approved a draft law amending the Military Judiciary Law No. 25 of 1966 to introduce an appellate tier for felony courts akin to civilian courts. However, this legislation has yet to be finalized.

In light of these violations, the undersigned organizations demand:

1. President Sisi, in his capacity as the Military Governor, must annul these unjust verdicts and issue an order for the immediate release of all defendants.
2. Cessation of referring civilians to military courts, along with the amendment of Article 204 of the Egyptian Constitution to limit the jurisdiction of military courts to prosecuting military personnel.
3. The Egyptian government must fulfill its commitments to return displaced residents to their lands and compensate them for damages resulting from forced displacement.
4. Independent investigations into the violations faced by North Sinai residents, including excessive force against protesters and unlawful detentions.
5. Ceasing all forms of systemic discrimination and oppression against North Sinai residents, while ensuring their rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and their rights to a dignified life.

Signatories:

1. Sinai Foundation for Human Rights
2. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
3. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
4. Egyptian Front for Human Rights
5. El Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation for Victims of Violence and Torture
6. Minority Rights Group International
7. Fair Square
8. Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
9. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
10. Committee for Justice
11. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
12. Egyptian Human Rights Forum ( EHRF)
13. Egypt Wide for Human Rights
14. Refugees Platform in Egypt
15. Foundation for the Support of Law and Democracy
16. REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression
17. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)