CAIRO (Middle East Eye) – The international community must hold those responsible for the deaths of hundreds of protesters responsible, a decade after the worst mass killing in Egypt’s modern history, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
At least 900 people died when Egyptian soldiers and police officers forcibly dispersed a protest camp in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on 14 August 2013.
Tens of thousands had gathered there to demand the return of former President Mohamed Morsi, who had been deposed by his defence minister and current Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in a coup a month and a half earlier.
HRW described the killings as “a likely crime against humanity” and considered it the start of a continuing campaign of repression against critics of Sisi’s rule.
Despite heavy visual documentation of the killings by Egyptian activists, journalists and rights groups, to date no one responsible for the deaths has been prosecuted by the Egyptian authorities.
“Addressing what happened in Rabaa does not only concern Rabaa victims and their families but is also crucial for the prospect of human rights and democracy in Egypt,” said Adam Coogle, the rights group’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
“The Rabaa massacre precipitated a devastating campaign of arrests, sham trials, torture and exile that has all but removed any space for critical dialogue and pushed many reformists out of the country,” he continued.
Hundreds of protesters who participated in the sit-in have been detained since the massacre including many who were convicted in mass trials that have been criticised for lacking transparency and fairness.
HRW has previously said that the killings were premeditated and the planning involved high-profile members of the Egyptian government in office at that time, including then defence minister Sisi, Prime Minister Hazem El Beblawi, and interim President Adly Mansoor.