Reprinted from Consortium News
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July 2012.
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On July 3, 2013, the Egyptian military staged a coup'etat and deposed the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Thousands of Egyptians staged demonstrations throughout Egypt to show support for Morsi.
One month later, the Egyptian army and police carried out several massacres in Cairo, killing hundreds of unarmed protesters. Authorities mounted a military response to largely peaceful protests by supporters of the Brotherhood against the illegitimate Egyptian government. Although aimed primarily at the Brotherhood, the crackdown included other political opposition groups and individuals.
Dutch criminal courts have jurisdiction under the International Crimes Act when a Dutch national has been the victim of a crime. Due to head of state immunity, the lawsuit did not name Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who ordered the Rab'a massacre when he was Defense Minister.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) undertook a one-year investigation into the conduct of security forces responding to the demonstrations. In its report titled "All According to Plan: The Rab'a Massacre and Mass Killings of Protesters in Egypt," HRW concluded, "police and army forces systematically and intentionally used excessive lethal force in their policing, resulting in killings of protesters on a scale unprecedented in Egypt."
HRW also determined "the killings not only constituted serious violations of international human rights law, but likely amounted to crimes against humanity, given both their widespread and systematic nature and the evidence suggesting the killings were part of a policy to attack unarmed persons on political grounds."
Although HRW was able to confirm that some protesters used firearms in a few instances, they did not justify "the grossly disproportionate and premeditated lethal attacks on overwhelmingly peaceful protesters."
The Rab'a Massacre
There were over 20,000 protesters in Rab'a Square. In what HRW called "the gravest incident of mass protester killings," Egyptian police, snipers and military personnel opened fire on unarmed demonstrators on Aug. 14, 2013, "killing at least 817 and likely more than 1,000." Security forces used live ammunition "with hundreds killed by bullets to their heads, necks, and chests." Snipers fired from helicopters over Rab'a Square.
"Much of the shooting by police appears to have been indiscriminate," HRW found, "openly firing in the general direction of crowds of demonstrators instead of targeting armed protester gunmen who may have posed a serious threat."
The Rab'a mosque, which served as a refuge, particularly for women and children, "held so many corpses that it felt like it 'had turned into a cemetery,'" one protester told HRW.
An 18-year-old boy came into the hospital and said his stomach hurt. A doctor noted, "I looked down and his intestines were all out. He had taken several bullets and [later] died."
The doctor also reported that another person "took a bullet in the face, causing his face to open and tongue to fall out . . . He spent 40 minutes looking at me and gesturing for help, but I couldn't do anything. Surgery was not possible."
The deaths "amounted to collective punishment of the overwhelming majority of peaceful protesters," HRW concluded.
One of the petitioners, who was present at the demonstration, was not wounded but people on his left and right were being shot. He was also present when the authorities set fire to the hospital on Rab'a Square, killing about 300 patients who were not able to leave.
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