Deux ans après le massacre de Rabaa, l’impunité règne toujours en Égypte
Two Years since Rabaa Massacre, Impunity still Reigns in Egypt
Brussels, 14August 2015: Onthis day two years ago, the Egyptian army and riot police launched a deadlyonslaught on supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, leaving hundreds dead and thousandsinjured.
Our organisations call upon the European Union (EU)to strongly condemn the prevailing impunity and failure of the authorities tohold officials, police and army officers accountable for the use of excessiveforce against protesters.
The tragic dispersal of gatherings in al-Nahdaand Rabaa al-Adawiya squares in Cairo marked a grim milestone in the crackdown ondissent, including civil society, peaceful protesters and human rightsdefenders. Instead of promoting “stability” as the Egyptian authorities claim,these heavy-handed actions have deepened a vicious cycle of violence and terrorism.
While Egypt paid lip service to arecommendation in the UN Universal Periodic Review to investigate excessive andlethal force by security forces to disperse peaceful protests, it has shown nocommitment to conducting effective and impartial inquiries. Despite similarcalls by the National Council for Human Rights for an inquiry into the Rabaa events,prosecutors have failed to thoroughly investigateany allegations of unlawful use of forcebymilitary or police officers. SinceAugust 2013, only one policeman has been convicted for the murder of peacefulprotester Shaimaa El Sabbagh.
Tensof thousands of protesters have been detained for alleged violations of the “ProtestLaw” whose draconian provisions breach the most basic international standards onfreedom of association. Egypt also witnessed a sharp spike in death sentences over the past years,with 509 sentences in 2014 compared with 109 in 2013. Hundreds more are stillon death row, including leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement aswell as hundreds of alleged Morsi supporters. According to Amnesty International,seven men have been executed in Egypt in 2015 following grossly unfair trials,including in special military courts.
According to the “No to Military Trials forcivilians” campaign, over 3,000 civilians were tried in military courts betweenApril and December 2014. This trend was further consolidated by a series oflegislative changes. In October 2014, the military jurisdiction was extended to apply to large parts ofpublic spaces. Following an anti-terror law adopted in December 2014, anotheranti-terrorism bill is set to establish a special court with an exceptionaljudicial and appeal regime. This has taken place without parliamentaryoversight as legislative elections, which were supposed to be organised in thesummer of 2014, have yet to take place. According to the Tahrir Institute forMiddle East Policy, 160 laws have been adopted by decree the last two years.
Torture,ill-treatment anddeath in custody are rife in police stations and other places of detention. ElNadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence has documented at least74 deaths in custody since the beginning of 2015, many as a result ofinadequate medical care and torture. In June 2015, Freedom of the Brave, theoutlawed April 6 Youth Movement and Students against the Coup reported anincrease in enforced disappearancesand arrests of young activists.
In light ofthis, we urge the EU to:
- Call upon the Egyptian authorities to conductindependent, impartial and effective investigations into alleged unlawfuluse of force by the police and the army;
- Call upon the Egyptian authorities towithdraw and review the Protest law;
- Ask the Egyptian government toimpose a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolishing it;
- Urge the Egyptian judiciary torespect fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial in accordancewith international standards, and immediately release and drop the chargesagainst all individuals detained solely for peacefully exercising their rightsto freedoms of expression, association and assembly;
- Call upon the Egyptianauthorities to revise the law on associations to comply with internationalhuman rights standards, including regarding access to foreign funding;
- Request the disclosure of thewhereabouts of all detainees held incommunicado and immediately grant themaccess to their families, lawyers and doctors;
- Ban exports ofsurveillance technologies that could be used to spy on and repress citizens anduphold the ban on the export of security equipment or military aid which canbe used for internal repression.
List of signatories:
EuroMed Rights
OMCT
Člověk v tísni, o. p. s./ People in Need
FIDH
IFEX
