VZCZCXRO7654
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0409/01 0451330
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141330Z FEB 07 ZDK NUM SVC
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3588
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000409 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC STAFF FOR WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KISL EG
SUBJECT: MILITARY COURT TO TRY 40 MUSLIM BROTHERS 
 
REF: CAIRO 144 AND PREVIOUS 
 
CAIRO 00000409  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  President Mubarak ordered on February 6 that 40 
members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Second Deputy 
Chairman Khairat Al-Shatir, face a military tribunal on 
charges including money laundering and planning terrorist 
actions in support of the outlawed group.  Past military 
tribunals against opposition figures, including MB activists, 
have resulted in speedy convictions, which have been 
criticized by human rights activists as failing to provide 
due process.  The decision to try Al-Shatir and his 
associates before a military tribunal marks a further 
escalation of the GOE,s campaign to curtail the MB,s 
influence and activity.  End summary. 
 
--------------------- 
The Latest Escalation 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The recent GOE decision to try MB members before a 
military tribunal is the latest step in a series of 
increasingly severe GOE tactics against the MB (reftels). 
After a controversial December 10 student "militia" 
demonstration at Al-Azhar University, the GOE detained a 
number of MB activists.  Both President Mubarak and the 
Interior Minister later warned in press interviews that the 
MB was a threat to Egypt's stability, and suggested that the 
GOE would take steps to contain this threat. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Previous Military Tribunals Against the MB 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Under the State of Emergency, which has been in 
force almost continuously since 1967, the President may refer 
crimes ordinarily subject to the Penal Code (and civilian 
courts) to extraordinary military tribunals instead.  The GOE 
has in the past resorted to military tribunals to prosecute 
MB activists, including in 1995 and 2001.  Analysts in Cairo 
note that prosecutions in 1995 and 2001 were linked to 
increased MB political activism, specifically in the 
parliamentary elections of 1995 and 2000.  The 1995 tribunals 
resulted in the conviction of at least 46 MB members, who 
were sentenced for 3-5 years.  The 2001 tribunal led to 
convictions of 16 MB activists, who were also sentenced for 
3-5 years.  The most recent use of a military tribunal in 
Egypt--and a case which did not involve the MB--occured in 
October 2006 when a military court convicted parliamentarian 
Talaat Sadat of spreading false rumors and insulting the 
armed forces after he publicly accused President Mubarak and 
the military leadership of complicity in the 1981 
assassination of his uncle, President Anwar Sadat. 
 
---------------------- 
MB Financiers Targeted 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In addition to Al-Shatir, the MB,s third-ranking 
leader, suspects facing a military tribunal include several 
other prominent MB figures.  A number of them reportedly 
serve as key financiers of the movement, while others are 
allegedly active outside of Egypt, apparently active in the 
MB's international activities.  Some of the more prominent MB 
members facing the military tribunal include: 
 
--Hassan Malek:  co-owner with Al-Shatir of Istiqbal 
Furniture Company and Salsabeel (an information technology 
firm).  Believed to be a major source of MB funding.  His 
younger brother, an Al-Azhar student, reportedly played a key 
role in the December 10, 2006 demonstration. 
 
--Abdel Rahman Seoudi:  owner of Cairo's high-end grocery 
store chain, Seoudi Market. 
 
--Dr. Mohamed Ali Bishr:  professor of engineering at 
Meoufiya University.  Ph.D. from University of Colorado in 
¶1984. 
 
--Medhat Al-Haddad:  engineer/general manager of the Arabiya 
Company (export-import and construction firm). 
 
--Dr. Khaled Awda:  geologist at Assiut University.  Also a 
prominent businessman in Upper Egypt. 
 
CAIRO 00000409  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
 
--Dr. Salah Al-Dessouki:  professor of medicine, Al-Azhar 
University. 
 
--Dr. Essam Abdul Mohsen:  professor of medicine, Al-Azhar 
University. 
 
--Dr. Farid Galbat:  professor of Islamic law, Al-Azhar 
University. 
 
--Yousef Nada:  resident of Italy, and head of Al-Taqwa Bank. 
 One of several MB figures who will be tried in absentia. 
 
--Ibrahim Zayat:  a German citizen who resides in Germany, 
Zayat will also be tried in absentia. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  One notable aspect of the charges against the MB 
is the crime of money laundering.  The GOE has devoted 
considerable effort, under USG and multi-lateral pressure, to 
harmonize its laws with international standards on money 
laundering.  It is not clear exactly how the GOE plans to 
make its case on the money laundering charges since the 
accused businessmen control legal businesses that are 
generally believed to operate under Egyptian law.  Presumably 
the GOE case will hinge on the transfer of legal profits to 
support the work of a banned organization. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Some Media Suppport for the Decision 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Although the GOE has not yet provided an official 
comment on the decision to refer the suspects to a military 
tribunal, Rose Al-Yousef (RAY), a daily newspaper which is 
widely seen as an unofficial mouthpiece for key officials in 
the ruling party and the security apparatus, has devoted 
considerable editorial attention to the matter.  In a 
February 10 column, RAY editor Karam Gabr argued that the MB 
threat had left the GOE with no option.  "The state has 
turned to the military courts, 'the bitter medicine,' to deal 
with a disease that is more bitter and devastating, having 
already exhausted all good intention, patience and calm in 
dealing with the practices of the outlawed group."  Gabr 
further noted that, "The group had continued to escalate the 
confrontation, tamper with the political and democratic 
reforms and employ them to serve its interests and spread 
chaos, rebellion and disobedience. It sought to undermine 
state authority and to attempt to infiltrate state 
institutions. The MB did not spare judges, journalists, 
workers, lawyers or other trade unionists. It pursued its 
suspect activities, a state within a state working through 
parallel organizations."  Gabr warned, "This is not the first 
time the Muslim brothers stand trial before military 
courts--and it will not be the last." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Human Rights Groups Criticize Use of Military Court 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  At least two of Egypt's leading human rights 
organizations, on the other hand, have reacted critically to 
the GOE's resort to a military court.  The Cairo Institute 
for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) has condemned the move, 
labeling it "a flagrant intervention by the Executive 
Authorities in the conduct of justice, and a spoliation (sic) 
of the defendants' rights to appear before a natural (sic) 
judge."  CIHRS further labeled the referral of civilians to 
military courts as a "grave breach of human rights" and said 
that the move casts doubts on the GOE's commitment to 
meaningful political reform.  The Egyptian Organization for 
Human Rights issued a similar statement, terming the GOE move 
as a violation of the constitutional right to a fair trial. 
EOHR also said that the case was further evidence of the 
urgent need to end Egypt's State of Emergency. 
RICCIARDONE