Egyptian parliament passes a law protecting army leaders from prosecution

The Egyptian parliament has passed a law that will prevent military leaders from being prosecuted in connection with the violence that overran the country five years ago.

The law gives President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi the authority to identify officers eligible for benefits and secure immunity from any legal action against them.

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According to article 5 of the law, “no investigation or judicial action can be conducted against any of those who are concerned in this law for any act committed in the course of performing their duties or because of these duties from 3 July 2013 to 8 June 2014, except with permission by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces”.

In August 2013 hundreds of people were killed when security forces dispersed a sit-in that was staged in support of ousted former president Mohamed Morsi at Cairo’s Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square, in one of the most violent events in Egypt’s recent history.