Arrest request filed for Egypt's prosecutor general in France
Arrest request filed for Egypt's prosecutor general in France
A UK-based human rights organisation has called on France to arrest Barakat for mass torture and the killing of Egyptian citizens after July 2013.
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Many were killed or injured in protests in Egypt after July 2013 [Getty]
A complaint was filed Friday with French prosecutor against Egyptian Prosecutor General Hisham Mohammad Zaki Barakat by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR).
The UK based organisation has accused Barakat of collaborating in the mass killings and torture of Egyptian citizens after his appointment on 10 July 2013.
The case was filed through a team of lawyers, headed by French lawyer Gilles Devers. According to AOHR, the lawyers demanded the immediate arrest of Barakat before he leaves France.
"Barakat ordering the dispersal of the Rabaa and Annahda Square sit-ins in Cairo and Al-Qaed Ibrahim Square in Alexandria. The order, which was requested by the ministry of interior on 30 July 2013, led to an attack on the squares on 14 August 2013 resulting in the death and injury of thousands of protesters," AOHR stated. It also said that the UK had presented documented evidence and victim testimonies to support the accusation.
Barakat is also accused of: failing to investigate incidents of genocide, torture and the enforced disappearance of members of the opposition; of working with the Egyptian security forces to deny victims justice and reparations; of conspiring to create bogus charges against political opponents; and of remanding the latter in custody for indefinite periods without legal justification.
In his remarks, the director of AOHR said that because of the absence of justice and because the international community continues to ignore these crimes, victims have been left with no choice but to seek recompense through international judicial systems according to the principle of universal jurisdiction.
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
The UK based organisation has accused Barakat of collaborating in the mass killings and torture of Egyptian citizens after his appointment on 10 July 2013.
The case was filed through a team of lawyers, headed by French lawyer Gilles Devers. According to AOHR, the lawyers demanded the immediate arrest of Barakat before he leaves France.
"Barakat ordering the dispersal of the Rabaa and Annahda Square sit-ins in Cairo and Al-Qaed Ibrahim Square in Alexandria. The order, which was requested by the ministry of interior on 30 July 2013, led to an attack on the squares on 14 August 2013 resulting in the death and injury of thousands of protesters," AOHR stated. It also said that the UK had presented documented evidence and victim testimonies to support the accusation.
Barakat is also accused of: failing to investigate incidents of genocide, torture and the enforced disappearance of members of the opposition; of working with the Egyptian security forces to deny victims justice and reparations; of conspiring to create bogus charges against political opponents; and of remanding the latter in custody for indefinite periods without legal justification.
In his remarks, the director of AOHR said that because of the absence of justice and because the international community continues to ignore these crimes, victims have been left with no choice but to seek recompense through international judicial systems according to the principle of universal jurisdiction.
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
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