Following his arrest in May 1994, Mr Ramadhan was detained incommunicado and without any legal justification for several months during which time he was tortured. He was then detained for three years on administrative orders from the Ministry of Interior, in accordance with Emergency Law No. 162 of 1958.

On 15 September 1997, more than 3 years after his arrest, Mr Ramadhan, despite holding no military status, was brought before the Military Court of Haikstep in Cairo, which condemned him to life imprisonment.

The WGAD, in its Opinion 18/2008, condemns the trial of civilians before Military tribunals saying that, among other shortcomings, "The legal experience of some judges and prosecutors is generally limited, and confined to infractions committed by the military against military law and codes, but not to the assessment of crimes and own responsibilities of civilians."

The Opinion states that Military courts lack the guarantees for a fair trial and the independence necessary according to international law. The Working Group highlights several important elements regarding Egypt's use of these tribunals:

"The universal experience is that the so-called military courts are composed by, first of all, military judges. If the essential quality for a judge to exercise his/her functions is one of independence, in a military person the main value is by definition one of dependence, even of obedience."

"Military judges are military officers appointed by the Ministry of Defence for a two-year term, which can be renewed for an additional two-year term at the discretion of the Ministry."

"In addition, the referral of cases to courts by the executive branch of the Government creates a strong link between military courts and the executive."

The Opinion quotes the Human Rights Committee, which in 2002, noted "with alarm that military courts and State security courts have jurisdiction to try civilians accused of terrorism although there are no guarantees of those courts' independence and their decisions are not subject to appeal before a higher court (article 14 of the Covenant) (CCPR/C0I76/EGY, para. 16)."

The WGAD concludes that "the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Djema'a Al-Seyed Suleymane Ramadhan since 11 May 1994 is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 5,8,9,10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Upon adoption of this Opinion on 9 September 2008, the Working Group called on the government to immediately release Mr Ramadhan. However, it was only a year later that Mr Ramadhan, in a very bad state of health, was finally released in September 2009.

Alkarama calls on Egypt to collaborate with the United Nations Special Procedures and implement their recommendations, as the Government promised to do in its voluntary pledges upon submitting its candidacy for the Human Rights Council in 2007. The Government of Egypt promised it would work towards "strengthening the system of special procedures and other mechanisms of the Council." (A/61/878; 23 April 2007) Such a pledge seems void of meaning when recommendations made by the WGAD are only implemented a year after they are made.

Alkarama also condemns the continued use of Military Courts in Egypt - see also the case of Khairat Al-Shattar and the group arrested with him - and calls on the Egyptian government to release all civilians tried before Military Tribunals for political motives.