Mr Mohamed Amin Kamal (محمد أمين كمال), now 18, and Mr Ahmed Jaber Othman (أحمد جابر محمود عثمان) also 18, both Egyptian nationals, were minors at the time of their arrest and trial by a military court on 9 February 2011, which, the WGAD found, was in contradiction with international law.

The young men were arrested by Egyptian military forces on 3 February 2011 from the street for breaching curfew. They were detained incommunicado until their trial by the Military Prosecutor; unable to receive family visits or even phone calls. Their families in fact only learned of their arrest and trial through the newspaper. Even worse, they were subjected to various acts of torture during their pre-trial detention at the police station.

On 9 February 2011, they were tried expeditiously before a military court and sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Upon learning of the case, Alkarama acted promptly in fear of further torture and concerned at the effect of their on-going arbitrary detention was having on the young men. A communication was therefore sent to WGAD informing them of the situation of the two young men on 15 July 2011.

On 17 November 2011 the Working Group adopted its opinion declaring the detention arbitrary, particularly as they were minors, and their trial had been before a military court. In response, after the court's guilty verdict was appealed by the young men, they were both acquitted on 11 December 2011 and were finally released back to their families on 16 December 2011.

While pleased that Mr Kamal and Mr Othman have been released, Alkarama recalls its concerns regarding the increasing referral of civilians to military courts in Egypt, contrary to a number of fair trial norms. All civilians tried by military courts should either be released immediately, or re-tried by a civilian court.

Geneva, 15 February 2012