Alkarama, based in Geneva, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) in Cairo, had previously lodged a complaint with the WGAD regarding the case of Mr Sanad, asking for their immediate intervention to bring an end to his military trial.
The WGAD indicated that the trial of Mr Sanad by a military court is a breach of Egypt's international commitments and of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The Working Group also noted that trials of civilians by military courts or special jurisdictions may raise serious problems as far as the fair, impartial and independent administration of justice is concerned.
The WGAD concluded in its opinion that Mr Sanad is a civilian and that there is no justification for his military trial. The only justification that the Egyptian Authorities used is that Mr. Sanad's detention is due to his criticism of the military in a series of articles available on the Internet on his personal blog. Meanwhile, his complaints regarding acts of police violence against him have not been properly investigated.
The Working Group requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation, which would include the immediate release of Mr. Sanad and adequate reparation to him".
The special prosecutor, major general Midhat Ghazi, told Al Akhbar Egyptian newspaper on 5 September that military courts are completely committed to not trying anyone for their beliefs, "but some abuse the freedom they have on the Internet and in other avenues to abuse, defame, and lie about the military council."
The legal director of Alkarama in Geneva, Mr Rachid Mesli said: "The WGAD opinion has shown the illegal nature of the measures put in place by the Egyptian authorities in order to refer civilian cases to military trials and of the sentences handed out by such trials. In particular, it highlights the violations against Mr Sanad, whose case is now being retried before a military court which is not qualified to look into cases of civilians".
He continued: "Despite the fact that the Egyptian authorities have stopped referring civilians to military trials on the 9th of October 2011, they are still using special courts to try civilians. Our demand is to stop using all such special courts to try civilians, whether they are military courts, or emergency law courts, because they all are of an arbitrary nature".
Alkarama has lodged a large number of complaints with the UN Special Rapporteurs regarding human rights violations, particularly the referral of civilians to military trials, and their torture and mistreatment in the military prisons.