Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday ordered the release of 572 people detained by the military, the official MENA news agency reported. Morsi, who was sworn in last month as Egypt’s first elected civilian president, “issued an order to pardon 572 people convicted by the military justice,” MENA said. The Egyptian president had ordered the formation of a committee to review the cases of civilians tried by the military. A total of 11,879 Egyptians have been detained by the military since last year’s uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, according to figures issued by the committee. Of these, 9,714 have since been released. Activists and international rights groups have repeatedly called for the end of military trials of civilians. “International law is crystal-clear on this: no civilian, regardless of the crime, should be tried by a military court,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said this week.
Egypt’s Morsi orders release of 572 detained by military
