The Human Rights Committee has considered in particular the question of the competence sometimes given to military courts to try civilians as well as members of the armed forces or police in cases where they are alleged to have committed human rights abuses: The Committee notes 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/CO/76/EGY, para. 16 (2002). ***** The Committee … urges that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that members of the armed forces and the police accused of human rights abuses are tried by independent civilian courts and suspended from active duty during the period of investigation. To that end, the Committee recommends that the jurisdiction of the military courts with respect to human rights violations be transferred to civilian courts and that investigations of such cases be carried out by the Office of the Attorney-General and the Public Prosecutor. --CCPR/C/79/Add.76, para. 34 (1997). ***** The State party should review the jurisdiction of the military courts and transfer the competence of military courts, in all trials concerning civilians and in all cases concerning the violation of human rights by members of the military, to the ordinary courts. --CCPR/C/79/Add.78, para. 14 (1997). ***** The Human Rights Committee has also considered the question of redress for convictions by military courts: The Committee takes note of the measures adopted by [the State party] to pardon persons convicted of terrorism. Notwithstanding its satisfaction at the release of 69 persons, the Committee considers that the pardon does not provide full redress to the victims of trials conducted without regard for due process of law and repeats the recommendation made in paragraph 21 of its observations, which includes the need to establish an effective mechanism, at the initiative of the State, to revise all the convictions handed down by the military tribunals in treason and terrorism cases. 56

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