of these cases. The Complainant refers to the jurisprudence of the Commission and argues that even if a remedy is available, it must also be considered whether it is effective and sufficient. The Complainant also notes that according to the Commission's jurisprudence it is only judicial domestic remedies that have to be exhausted. 74. The Complainant refers to a decision of the European Court of Human Rights which held that situations of "martial law and characterized by severe civil strife" and the "risk of reprisals against the applicants or their lawyers" provide no prospect of success of a domestic remedy, and thus amount to an exhaustion of local remedies. The Complainant avers that several disappearance of complaints Victims in were the filed Kafr Al with the Sheikh Attorney case, kidnapping and torture were not investigated and but General that these following the allegations of ere dismissed on 12 December 2015 without any charges. The Complainant also makes reference to the refusal by the Military Court to take into account new evidence, thus denying the reopening of the Kafr Al Sheikh case. 75. The Complainant submits that "the unjust trial practices are symptomatic of the repressive actions against all legitimate opposition in Egypt," and that freedom of speech and assembly have been heavily restricted and organizations opposed to the military regime have peen banne . The Comp1ainant thus submits that there are clear impediments to the availability of any local judicial remedies in the present case, due to the highly repressive environment. The Complainant further submits that in particular the risks of rep isals against the accused or their defense lawyers show that there is no prospect of successfully pursuing any apparent appellate avenues and that it can therefore be concluded that local remedies have been exhausted. 76. The Complainant in its original submissions further state in paragraph 7 above, that "recent egal amendments to the appeal system" abolished a previous two-stage appeal process, through which the Court of Cessation could refer cases back to the Criminal Court for retrial, which means that all judgements of the Court of Cassation are final and binding. The Complainant further states that it is therefore "unlikely that the appeal submitted by the six Victims [in relation to the Metwally case] on 15 June 2017 on the basis of proceduraUlaws in the trial will be granted."24 77. The Commission confirms that from the submissions in this Communication, in four of the five cases referenced.> the Court of Cassation, the highest appeal court in Egypt, upheld 24 25 the death penalty and that in a fifth case> which was subject to military Para 7 above. The Alexandria Protest case, the�� V:.C�J ,I� Qatar espionage case and the Ra baa dispersal case. 26 The Kafr Al Sheikh bombing casei· j�v.i? s ·t. � E � � '. ; , � , � , 17 "( ,,.�.,:)'· �···1,' s \\ ; ,, . ' J ,.. , ir s ,v ':' ef" :v.qAOC�t� "'°"41£ � "' I'.$ /j •U·U'· , .,. . '� . "'�· '1, • . ., S'; El tit�� "