At least 846 killed during Egyptian revolution

Posted on | april 20, 2011 | No Comments

An Egyptian fact finding committee, consisting of judges, has found that the toll of te 25 January revolution was higher than hitherto thought: at least 846 dead, and about 6500 wounded. The report, that was released on Tuesday, accuses the security forces of “excessive” use of force during the mass protests, using live ammunition and cars to run over people.
The report points the finger at the two sons of the ousted president Hosni Mubarak, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, former head of the upper house Shura Council Safwat El-Sherif, attorney Mortada Mansour, and business tycoon Ibrahim Kamel as the masterminds of the “Battle of the Camel,” which left several protesters dead and injured on 2 February.

The report elaborates moreover on illegal detentions; intentionally leaving a security vacuum and opening prisons and the role of the media.

According to the fact-finding committee up until 16 February there are “at least” 846 martyrs in the Egyptian revolution. Twenty-six police officers and policemen and 189 prisoners were killed. Injuries were numbered at 6467 protesters, 263 prisoners and 30 from the armed forces. The fact-finding committee confirmed that there were snipers shooting from above and that the police and interior ministry were responsible for organising and carrying out the attacks.

Regarding the jailbreaks the report states that the committee watched videos that confirm that several prisons where opened by security forces. However, some prisons were opened by external, unknown forces. Accordingly, the fact-finding committee recommends further investigation on the issue.

As for the government-owned media, the committee admonished the fact that the media blamed the security vacuum, jailbreaks and economic problems on the revolutionaries.

AUTHOR: Martin Hijmans
URL: http://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: m.hijmans [at] planet.nl