Rights groups condemn January 25 violence

Human rights groups condemned the bloody confrontations that occurred on the third anniversary of the January 25 uprising on Saturday.

A statement issued Sunday said that the “main culprit was the Interior Ministry’s security forces,” with violence systematically and intentionally committed against protests held in opposition to the ruling regime, which it said could not be justified by citing the outlawed actions of those targeted.

“While security forces opened squares and roads for protests supporting the regime, any attempts to demonstrate by the opposition were met with extreme violence,” the statement read, adding that police used tear gas, birdshot and live ammunition against the latter while protecting the former’s marches only a few meters away with military units.

“There is a contradiction that clearly emphasizes the oppression of the right to peaceful assembly by those carrying banners against the regime,” the rights groups said.

Groups who made the statement include the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, Nazra for Feminist Studies, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, among others.

While the latest statement by the Ministry of Health Sunday places the death toll from January 25 at 49, the statement estimates that over 60 people were killed, most by live bullets used by security forces in violation of the law.  

The statement confirms that over 1000 people were detained from various locations, including their homes, with no legal justification.

Other violations cited by the statement include the assault and brief detention of some of the lawyers who attempted to reach those detained or acquire information about them.

The regime’s continuous violence against its opponents and its violation of rights and freedoms has “led the country into a dark tunnel of escalating violence… and undermined the basis on which a secure and stable future can be built,” the statement said.

“As terrorist attacks increase by a group that has taken on armed violence as a means of achieving its political goals, security forces are also modeling the use of violence to achieve political gains,” the statement said.

The rights groups added that there is no proof that the state is using any effective methods to combat terrorism “which it uses as a pretext for constant violations against peaceful protests.”

The groups reiterated their condemnation of the use of violence by any party for political gains and called for a swift investigation into the events of January 25, 2014 by a neutral and independent body.

They also call for the immediate release of those detained for peacefully protesting or for any peaceful political practices, and immediate investigations into the legal violations committed against them.

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) called on the prosecutor general to respond to interim President Adly Mansour’s calls in his Sunday address to review the cases of those detained, particularly university students, and to release those not convicted of any crime.

Following Mansour’s speech, Ehab Badawy, presidential spokesperson, clarified that the interim president was referring to those detained prior to investigation.

In a statement quoted by state-owned EgyNews, the NCHR expressed concern over clashes that occurred between security forces and protesters on January 25 in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate and neighboring areas downtown.

The Council has formed a committee to investigate the violence, the statement added, urging security bodies to commit to Article 54 of the constitution, which stipulates that those detained be informed immediately of the reason for their arrest and be allowed to contact their families and lawyers.