Den 3. juli 2013 gennemførte det egyptiske militær et statskup og afsatte den demokratisk valgte regering af præsident Mohamed Morsi fra Det Muslimske Broderskab. Tusindvis af egyptere iscenesatte demonstrationer i hele Egypten for at vise støtte til Morsi.
En måned senere udførte den egyptiske hær og politi adskillige massakrer i Kairo og dræbte hundredvis af ubevæbnede demonstranter. Myndighederne iværksatte en militær reaktion på stort set fredelige protester fra tilhængere af Broderskabet mod den illegitime egyptiske regering. Selvom det primært var rettet mod Broderskabet, omfattede undertrykkelsen andre politiske oppositionsgrupper og enkeltpersoner.
Four Dutch citizens of Egyptian origin, who were present during three of the most brutal massacres in summer 2013, filed a petition in the Netherlands that charged Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim with crimes against humanity. In September 2014, the Dutch law firm of Seebregts & Saey submitted a formal request to the Dutch prosecutor to prosecute Ibrahim. 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.”
Rab'a-massakren
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 August 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.
"Meget af politiets skyderi ser ud til at have været vilkårligt," fandt HRW, "åbent skyder i den generelle retning af skarer af demonstranter i stedet for at målrette bevæbnede demonstranter, der kan have udgjort en alvorlig trussel."
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.”
Dødsfaldene "svarede til kollektiv afstraffelse af det overvældende flertal af fredelige demonstranter," konkluderede HRW.
En af andragerne, som var til stede ved demonstrationen, blev ikke såret, men folk til venstre og højre blev skudt. Han var også til stede, da myndighederne satte ild til hospitalet på Rab'a-pladsen og dræbte omkring 300 patienter, som ikke var i stand til at forlade.
Republican Guard Square
On July 7, 2013, about 2,000 Brotherhood supporters began a peaceful sit-in. Shortly before dawn on July 8, police and army units opened fire, targeting those in the protest and others emerging from prayers at the mosque. Authorities killed 61 protesters with live ammunition and injured 435. Most suffered gunshots to the head, neck and chest.
One of the petitioners was hit by a bullet, but survived.
Manassa Memorial
At least 95 protesters were killed on July 27, 2013. A field hospital doctor reported, “From 2 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. it was a steady stream; the bodies kept coming. Most had gunshot wounds in the head, neck or chest. The hospital was overflowing; we were completely over capacity.” Another field house doctor told HRW: “All of the dead were either dead on arrival or died immediately after they arrived, because of where they were hit; if you’re hit in the head or chest, you won’t last very long. The entire hospital floor was covered with injured people. It was beyond imagination.”
De to andragere, der var til stede ved denne demonstration, var ikke såret, men var i fare for at blive ramt. Andre et stykke derfra blev ramt af kugler.
Forbrydelser mod menneskeheden
Hollandsk lov giver mulighed for domme op til livsvarigt fængsel for domme for forbrydelser mod menneskeheden. Forbrydelsen defineres som forsætligt drab eller andre umenneskelige handlinger af sammenlignelig karakter, der forsætligt forårsager alvorlig lidelse eller alvorlig fysisk eller psykisk skade, når de begås som led i et udbredt eller systematisk angreb mod en civilbefolkning i overensstemmelse med statens politik.
HRW fandt, at "sikkerhedsstyrker systematisk og bevidst dræbte stort set ubevæbnede demonstranter på politiske grunde . . . på en udbredt måde, hvilket resulterede i over 1,150 demonstranters død i juli og august 2013."
HRW konkluderede endvidere, "[den] måde, hvorpå sikkerhedsstyrker brugte magt til at sprede protester, ser ud til at afspejle politikker fastsat af den egyptiske regering." Faktisk "forventede og planlagde regeringen flere tusinde demonstranters død."
Rab'a-massakren blev "henrettet i henhold til en plan formuleret af indenrigsministeriet og godkendt af kabinettet og det nationale forsvarsråd efter tre ugers forberedelse," fastslog HRW med henvisning til udtalelser fra Ibrahim om, at han forventede, at spredningen ville dræbe et stort antal demonstranter.
Ibrahim afgav offentlige udtalelser, der afslørede, at han på forhånd vidste, at mange mennesker ville dø under politi- og militæraktioner for at afslutte demonstrationerne. Dagen efter Rab'a-massakren sagde Ibrahim, at "spredningsplanen lykkedes 100 procent", hvilket indikerede, at den holdt sig til en plan, der var blevet iværksat.
In a televised interview on August 31, 2013, Ibrahim confirmed that the Interior Ministry expected losses of “10 percent of the people,” adding, “you will find thousands lost from their side.”
“Abject politicization of justice”
HRW learned that “[s]ecurity forces detained over 800 protesters on August 14, 2013, some of whom they beat, tortured and in some cases summarily executed.”
On April 11, 2015, 51 Brotherhood supporters were convicted in a mass trial, based on the testimony of a single police officer. HRW said the evidence presented at the trial demonstrated that the men were disseminating news about and organizing peaceful protests in opposition to the military coup and removal of Morsi. Fourteen of the defendants were sentenced to death and the other 37 were given life sentences. According to Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director of HRW, “The fact that people who covered and publicized the mass killings in 2013 could go to prison for life or be executed while the killers walk free captures the abject politicization of justice in Egypt.”
Morsi blev dømt for anklager om tilskyndelse til vold og tortur fra demonstrationer i 2012, der resulterede i 10 menneskers død uden for præsidentpaladset. Han blev idømt 20 års fængsel.
The Dutch lawsuit
Sagen mod Ibrahim er under behandling af den hollandske anklagemyndighed. Hvis anklageren nægter at retsforfølge Ibrahim, kan andragerne anmode om, at overretten i Haag beordrer anklageren til at rejse tiltale.
There has been no legal accountability for the massacres conducted by the Egyptian military government against the largely peaceful protesters. If high government officials in Egypt are permitted to commit crimes against humanity with impunity, it will encourage similar actions in the future – both in Egypt and elsewhere. Since there is little prospect for justice in Egypt itself, the Dutch lawsuit may be the only vehicle for accountability for these most serious crimes.
Marjorie Cohn er professor ved Thomas Jefferson School of Law og tidligere præsident for National Lawyers Guild. Hendes seneste bog er "Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues."
ZNetwork finansieres udelukkende gennem sine læseres generøsitet.
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