An Egyptian military court on Tuesday postponed a verdict for 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood until after local council elections due next month, court officials and the Islamist group said. Brotherhood deputy leader Mohamed Habib told Reuters the ruling had been delayed to April 15 in what he described as a political move. It is the second time a ruling has been delayed. Court officials confirmed a verdict was delayed for the men, including the group's third-in-command Khairat El-Shatir, on trial over charges of belonging to a banned group and having anti-government literature. “It (the government) doesn't want to fight multiple battles at the same time, and feels that the rulings would have a negative effect on its image on the societal level,” Habib said. He said that was true “especially as the whole world, whether in terms of public opinion or civil society, rejects in principle transferring civilians to military courts”. Members of the Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, have not faced a military court since 2001. The men in the case have already spent well over a year in jail, with the exception of six who are being tried in absentia. Most of the serious charges initially brought against them, including terrorism and money laundering, were reported to have been dropped in December, leaving only lesser charges pending. Local and international rights groups including Amnesty International have criticized the military trial as unfair. __
