Investigations in Republican Guards violence ongoing

Investigations into the clashes by the Republican Guards headquarters of July 8 are ongoing, local media reported Thursday.

Fifty-two people died in the clashes, and hundreds were injured. No final evidence corroborated how the events unfolded. While statements from the military spoke of an attack on the Republican Guards headquarters that stirred the ensuing violence, the Muslim Brotherhood said the attack started when the army fired at protesters taking part in a pro-deposed President Mohamed Morsi sit-in.

Al-Masry Al-Youm privately-owned newspaper reported the East Cairo Prosecution demanded from the military prosecution the details of the investigations it conducted in the case.

The paper also reported that the prosecution demanded from Republican Guards officials to send the content of surveillance cameras outside and inside their premises. The prosecution also asked television satellite channels to send their footage from the day.

The prosecution’s charges include inciting terrorism and attacking military establishments.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice portal reported the arrest of 652 people in the aftermath of the clashes. Meanwhile, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that a number of those arrested denied connections with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The National Salvation Front, a coalition of several political groups, demanded on Thursday that investigations into the violence be conducted speedily, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported on Thursday. They also demanded that there would be no resort to exceptional measures with those arrested.

Morsi was removed from his post when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces announced his ouster on July 3 following mass protests demanding his resignation.