HRW: Rabaa massacre may amount to crime against humanity

The systematic and widespread killing of at least 1,150 demonstrators by Egyptian security forces in July and August last year may amount to crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said today in a report based on a year-long investigation.

The 188-page report, All According to Plan: The Rab’a Massacre and Mass Killings of Protesters in Egypt, documents the way the “Egyptian police and army methodically opened fire with live ammunition on crowds of demonstrators opposed to the military’s July 3 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first elected civilian president, at six demonstrations between July 5 and August 17, 2013”.

“In Rabaa Square, Egyptian security forces carried out one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This wasn’t merely a case of excessive force or poor training. It was a violent crackdown planned at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. Many of the same officials are still in power in Egypt, and have a lot to answer for.”

Human Rights Watch released a video showing the events as they unfolded in Rabaa Square on August 14, including first-hand accounts by witnesses and victims.

To date, no one has been held accountable for any of the killings. HRW has called for “an international investigation and prosecutions of those implicated. States should further suspend military and law enforcement aid to Egypt until it adopts measures to end its serious rights violations.”

“It is appalling and heartbreaking that the hopes of so many Egyptians following the 2011 uprisings faded into the bloodshed and carnage of last year’s mass killings,” Roth said.

“The legacy of the Rabaa massacre continues to cast a dark shadow over Egypt,” Roth said. “Egypt will not move forward until it comes to terms with this bloody stain on its history.”

According to HRW, on August 14, security forces attacked the Rabaa protest encampment from each of its main entrances, using armed personnel carriers (APCs), bulldozers, ground troops, and snipers. Security forces gave little to no effective warning and opened fire into large crowds, leaving no safe exit for nearly 12 hours. Security forces fired on makeshift medical facilities and positioned snipers to target whoever sought to enter or exit Rabaa hospital. Towards the end of the day, the central stage, field hospital, mosque, and first floor of Rabaa hospital were set ablaze, probably by security forces.