Rights group accuses prosecutors of altering evidence

The office of the prosecutor general has been accused of tampering with legal documents and manipulating the court schedules of officers facing trial on charges of brutality and the murder of protesters, according to a report issued by a local human rights organization on Tuesday.

The independent National Community for Human Rights and Law (NCHRL) accused prosecutors of forging judicial documents in an attempt to acquit security forces from charges of using excessive force against protesters since the beginning of Egypt’s popular uprising in 2011.

Campaign group Warakom bel taqrir (“We’re after you with the report”) aims to oversee the government’s fact-finding missions into unlawful killings, assaults, and arrests of protesters from January 25, 2011 until June 30, 2012. The NCHRL denounced prosecutors’ attempts to cover up and influence the findings of the judiciary.

The campaign claims that prosecutors unlawfully, and without notice, altered the date of a court hearing against army officer, Major Hossam el-Dein Mustafa, from November 30 to November 28, to keep NCHRL lawyers away from the hearing and deny them the chance to present their case.

Major Mustafa is accused of overseeing the heavy-handed armed crackdown against protesters outside the cabinet building in November 2011, which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 protesters, the injuring of over 400, and the unlawful detention and alleged torture of detainees.

The crackdown commenced on December 16, 2011, aimed at dispersing a three-week long sit-in against former Prime Minister (Hosni Mubarak’s former head of government) Kamal al-Ganzouri.

The NCHRL filed the case against Major Mustafa with the Cairo Felonies Court, and the trial commenced on June 24, 2013.

The court’s final verdict is expected on December 23, 2013.

The NCHRL and other human rights organizations have criticized prosecutors for tampering with legal evidence against security forces in a host of previous cases.

Only a handful of security forces have been brought to trial on charges of assaulting protesters since the Egyptian uprising began in 2011, with an even smaller number having been sentenced.

In its statement, the NCHRL pointed out that human rights organizations are empowered to monitor prosecutors’ violations by virtue of legal and constitutional provisions introduced in early 2012, which facilitate direct appeals to courts from parties claiming violations of judicial proceedings.

Neither the spokespersons of the NCHRL, nor the office of the prosecutor general, could be reached for comment.