AI slams Egypt cops' use of lethal force
2013-01-29 08:59
Cairo - Amnesty International on Monday condemned the
police's use of deadly force against demonstrators in Egypt, where nearly 50
have been killed in clashes.
"Eyewitness accounts collected by Amnesty International
in Egypt point to the unnecessary use of lethal force by security forces during
a weekend of clashes with demonstrators," it said.
It said an Amnesty researcher probing killings in Suez had
collected "disturbing eyewitness accounts of excessive force, including in
some instances security forces using lethal force when it was not strictly
necessary to protect life".
Amnesty's deputy Middle East and North Africa head, Hassiba
Hadj Sahraoui, said: "Egyptian authorities must issue clear orders to
those policing protests to respect freedom of peaceful assembly and avoid
unnecessary or excessive force.
"They must make absolutely clear that those that use
arbitrary and excessive force will be brought to justice... The recourse to
violence by some protesters does not give a blank cheque to the police to shoot
and beat protesters."
Violence has swept Egypt since Thursday evening, prompting
authorities to declare a month-long state of emergency in the provinces of Port
Said, Suez and Ismailiya, where rioters have attacked and torched police
stations.
In Cairo on Monday, one man was killed as the clashes
between police and protesters raged into a fifth day.
The bloodshed has focused on Port Said where riots were
sparked sparked by death sentences handed down on Saturday against supporters
of local football club Al-Masry over stadium violence last year that killed 74
people.
On Sunday, angry anti-riot policemen barred Interior
Minister Mohammed Ibrahim from attending the funeral in Cairo of two colleagues
killed in Port Said, the official news agency MENA reported.
It said the action was taken in protest at police not having
been armed with live rounds to protect themselves.
