Eyewitness accounts collected by Amnesty Inter-national in Egypt point to the unnecessary use of lethal force by security forces during a weekend of clashes with demonstrators, the human rights organisation says.
Eyewitness accounts collected by Amnesty Inter-national in Egypt point to the unnecessary use of lethal force by security forces during a weekend of clashes with demonstrators, the human rights organisation says.
Three days of violence in Egypt last weekend led to the deaths of at least 45 people and left more than a 1,000 injured.
A researcher from Amnesty International investigating killings in Suez collected “disturbing” eyewitness accounts of excessive force. These include alleged incidents where the security forces used force when it was not necessary to protect life and where protestors did not pose an imminent threat.
Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: “The first protestors to die by police bullets in the ‘25 January Revolution’ were in Suez. It is tragic that exactly two years later not only has nobody been punished for their deaths, but more protestors have been unlawfully killed by security forces.
“Protests are continuing in Egypt to commemorate the ‘25 January Revolution’. The Egyptian authorities must issue clear orders to the security forces to avoid unnecessary or excessive force. Those responsible for these unlawful killings must be brought to justice.”
He added: “The use of violence by some protesters does not give a blank cheque to the police to shoot and beat protesters. All this comes against the backdrop of decades in which the security forces have operated above the law – in some cases getting away with murder.”
At least nine people, including one member of the security forces, died in Suez on the evening of 25 January.
Protestors told Amnesty International that shortly after thousands of women, men and children concluded a march to Suez’s security directorate, security forces fired tear gas. The security forces were reportedly attempting to prevent protestors from storming the building.
Violence escalated after a member of the security forces, believed to be a conscript with the riot police, was seriously injured by a flare believed to have been fired by a protester.
Protestors told Amnesty that at that point, riot police “panicked” and started shooting at random and chasing fleeing protestors, leading to eight further deaths, according to medical sources, mostly in the vicinity of the nearby Governorate Building.
Elsewhere, violent clashes also erupted in Port Said on 26 January in reaction to a verdict by a court in Cairo referring the files of 21 defendants accused of responsibility for the deaths of 73 people during a soccer match to the Grand Mufti for ratification of their death sentences.
According to the Port Said Health Directorate, some 31 people died and 322 were injured in the wake of the violence on 26 January. At least two members of the security forces were among the dead.
The directorate said a further five people were killed and 536 people injured on 27 January during funeral processions, when unknown assailants opened fire.
Local residents estimate the death toll to be higher. Amnesty International reported more bodies arriving at the morgue late in the afternoon on 28 January.
On 27 January, President Morsi announced a month-long state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the provinces of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said.
President Morsi stated that he was prepared to take further measures, and would not hesitate to do “much more for the sake of Egypt. ” The army have also been deployed to restore order.
Amnesty International has urged the Egyptian authorities to consider whether less intrusive measures would be better suited to restore order.
