tribunals. A trial monitor from Human Rights Watch attended all four of the trial’s hearings. Swedish government representatives were denied access to the first two hearings. Human Rights Watch documented a catalogue of fair trial violations in the course of Agiza’s retrial, including the rights to a speedy trial and to a trial by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal. 183 The trial also violated Agiza’s right to defend himself, including by adequate access to counsel and with adequate time and facilities to prepare the defense, his right to call and examine witnesses, and his right to appeal the verdict to an independent tribunal. Egyptian authorities relied upon secret evidence, which was not made available to Agiza’s lawyers. Defense lawyers were not permitted adequate access to the case file, nor were they granted sufficient time to obtain documents and prepare materials critical to the defense. The defendant was not permitted sufficient time to consult with his lawyers, and was sometimes granted consultations of only ten to fifteen minutes immediately before commencement of a hearing. The court also refused the defense’s request to allow witnesses to give testimony to counter the government’s charges. Although Agiza testified in the military court proceedings that he had been tortured in prison, the court permitted Agiza to be examined only by a prison doctor. The prison doctor’s report indicated that Agiza had sustained physical injuries while in prison, but the court denied the defense’s request for a forensic examination to establish how such injuries occurred and failed to commence an investigation into the torture allegations. Agiza also testified in court that after having filed a formal complaint about the torture he suffered in Mazra`t Tora prison, he was transferred to another prison, Abu Za’bal, where he was put in “punitive isolation.” He spent a total of forty-six days in Abu Za’bal before being transferred back to Mazra`t Tora. At the April 20 military court hearing, Agiza told his defense lawyers that an officer of the Egyptian security forces (mabahith) warned him after his hearing on April 13 not to mention his torture or ill-treatment again in court. Agiza was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for membership in an organization whose aim is to overthrow the Egyptian government by violent means. His was the first-ever retrial in Egypt of a person convicted in absentia by a military court. 183 Human Rights Watch Press Release, “Sweden Implicated in Egypt’s Abuse of Suspected Militant: Egypt Violated Diplomatic Promises of Fair Trial and No Torture for Terrorism Suspect,” May 5, 2004 [online] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/05/egypt8530.htm (retrieved March 3, 2005). All the details regarding the trial are from the Human Rights Watch monitor’s notes, originals on file with Human Rights Watch. 61 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D)