[JURIST] Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court ruled Monday that a military trial of forty top members of the Muslim Brotherhood [party website; FAS backgrounder] can go forward. The trial is scheduled to resume on June 3. The holding reverses last week's rejection [JURIST report] of the military trial ordered by Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak [official profile]. The Muslim Brotherhood characterized the ruling as a politically motivated decision to be "expected from this unjust and corrupt regime" [statement and hearing photos]. The court had rejected the Brotherhood's request for a changing of the court on the grounds that some of the judges held consultative positions elsewhere in government, including in Mubarak's administration.

The men are charged with money laundering and financing a banned organization. A civilian court had ordered the release of some detained defendants, including Brotherhood deputy supreme guide Khairat al-Shatir [BBC report], in January. Soon after, Mubarak ordered the Brotherhood members be tried before the military court, and a trial began in April [JURIST report]. The men remain in the custody of Egyptian authorities despite a second civilian court order for their release last month. AFP has more.