Home
Politics
They are also charged with stopping production and one of them is accused of imparting military secrets after he allegedly told an opposition website that the factory, located south of Cairo, was unsafe.
"Trials of civilians before military courts, whose judges are serving members of the military, flout international standards of fair trial and are inherently unjust," the London-based rights group said in a statement on Friday.
Saturday's trial is not open to the media. Rights groups say military tribunals, which are presided over by an officer, are unfair and issue harsh sentences.
The workers complained about poor safety standards in the Helwan Factory for Engineering Industries, also known as Military Factory 99, which produces home equipment, bullet proof vests and ammunition components.
"Rather than prosecute and try these men for what appear to be legitimate demands for their safety at work, the Egyptian authorities should do their utmost to improve working conditions and safety in the workplace," Amnesty said.
The group said the trial of the workers was the first since the country's military justice law was amended in June, giving the military more powers over civilians working at its installations.
Egyptian rights activists say it is the first time workers have faced a military trial since the 1950s, despite several strikes in military factories in the 1990s.
Egypt has seen a wave of labour unrest in the past few years, coinciding with economic reforms that have been praised by foreign investors but also criticised for further impoverishing the country's poor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Trials of civilians before military courts, whose judges are serving members of the military, flout international standards of fair trial and are inherently unjust," the London-based rights group said in a statement on Friday.
Saturday's trial is not open to the media. Rights groups say military tribunals, which are presided over by an officer, are unfair and issue harsh sentences.
The workers complained about poor safety standards in the Helwan Factory for Engineering Industries, also known as Military Factory 99, which produces home equipment, bullet proof vests and ammunition components.
"Rather than prosecute and try these men for what appear to be legitimate demands for their safety at work, the Egyptian authorities should do their utmost to improve working conditions and safety in the workplace," Amnesty said.
The group said the trial of the workers was the first since the country's military justice law was amended in June, giving the military more powers over civilians working at its installations.
Egyptian rights activists say it is the first time workers have faced a military trial since the 1950s, despite several strikes in military factories in the 1990s.
Egypt has seen a wave of labour unrest in the past few years, coinciding with economic reforms that have been praised by foreign investors but also criticised for further impoverishing the country's poor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
