| Global rights group Amnesty International has urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to allow independent observers at the trial by a military court of 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. “We look to President Mubarak, as Egypt’s highest authority, to open the doors to this important trial,” Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said in a statement ahead of Sunday’s latest hearing. “He should clear the way for it to receive the scrutiny it deserves,” she said. The 40 activists on trial at a military base include the organisation’s number three, Khayrat al-Shater. They are accused of funding an illegal organisation and money-laundering — charges they were originally acquitted from in a civil court. “We unreservedly oppose the Egyptian government’s use of military courts to try civilians,” Khan said. “In Egypt’s military courts judges are serving members of the armed forces and military courts cannot be seen as independent and impartial tribunals for civilians. “Their use for highly charged political cases - such as the current trial of leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood - suggests that the defendants may be denied a fair trial.” International observers, including former US attorney general Ramsey Clark, have already been barred from attending previous hearings of the trial. |