ISLAMABAD: Civilians should not be tried by military courts, Amnesty International Secretary-General Dr. Agnès Callamard said in an interview published on Tuesday, lamenting that the practice had been widely used in Pakistan’s history and was now returning “with force.”

Military courts have been in the spotlight since last year when hundreds of alleged supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested following riots on May 9 in which military and government installations were damaged. 

The government at the time as well as the army said those found to be behind attacks on military properties would be tried in army courts. At least 103 people linked to the May 9 riots are currently being tried in army courts, unleashing widespread criticism from within Pakistan and rights organizations globally over the courts’ secretive nature and existence alongside a functioning civilian legal system.

Last month, Pakistan freed at least 20 people previously detained by the military in connection with the May 9 riots.

“Civilians should not be tried by military courts,” Dr. Callamard said in an interview to Pakistan’s Dawn published on Tuesday, when asked about the military trial of civilians in Pakistan. “Sadly, it has happened throughout Pakistan’s history. Even though it is now coming back with force, it is not a novelty in Pakistan’s history.

“Pakistan is the only country in South Asia in recent history to allow military courts to play such a role vis à vis civilians,” she said, adding that historically military trials in Pakistan were held secretly and without transparency. 

The Supreme Court last October declared null and void the trial of civilians by military courts arrested in the wake of the May 9 protests, but overturned its own verdict in December and allowed the army to resume hearing the cases of 103 civilians.

Pakistan’s Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state. Civilians can only be tried under a federal government order.

Civilians accused of offenses such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or attacking military installations or inciting mutiny, can be tried at military courts.

Military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officers. The judges are also military personnel and cases are tried at military installations.

Trials are closed to outsiders, and no media presence is allowed.

Anyone tried under the Army Act has the right to defend themselves and a counsel of their choice. There is no right to appeal but individuals can challenge the question of jurisdiction in high courts and the Supreme Court.