Central Security Forces (CSF) used live ammunition as well as illegal quantities of tear gas, rubber bullets and buckshot during clashes that erupted in Tahrir Square on 28 and 29 June, according to a report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
The report, which is based on testimonies from injured people and doctors from surrounding hospitals, condemned the illegal use of force by the CSF, who directed their fire at protesters’ upper bodies, leading to hundreds of injuries. The practice is in breach of legal procedures and provisions for dealing with public demonstrations.
Protesters testify to gun shots to their backs, which means that policemen targeted protesters as they were withdrawing from clashes.
EIPR was able to document two cases of protesters who suffered live gunshots, according to testimonies from doctors who treated them in a makeshift hospital in Tahrir Square and another hospital nearby.
“I saw over 1500 wounded, and most injuries were rubber bullets, in addition to suffocation and burns caused by tear gas, as well as bruises and wounds from rocks,” said Abeer Aly, a physician at the makeshift hospital.
“I also treated one of the protesters, who had a gunshot wound near his heart and another in his foot."
Meanwhile, Minister of Interior Mansour al-Essawy, on Sunday, denied using rubber and live bullets on protesters during recent clashes.
According to the minister of interior's decision no. 139 for the year 1955, security forces should follow a process of gradual escalation in dealing with protesters. They should start by using verbal warnings, then tear gas, then rubber bullets. The use of live ammunition should be used as a last resort in limited cases and in accordance with the level of danger.
The rights group’s report accuses security forces of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails and waving machetes and knives to provoke protesters, all unauthorized methods for controlling crowds.
One member of the CSF, who refused to provide his name, was quoted in the report as saying that his unit was forced to throw rocks because it was not given orders to use any other weapons, unlike units in front of the Ministry of Interior.
The report also denounced excessive and improper use of tear gas on protesters, with CSF personnel firing canisters directly at protesters and not in the air, actions which resulted in severe injuries, including facial burns.
Fierce fighting erupted between security forces and families of those who died in the 25 January revolution last week as the families protested the slow pace of justice in trying police officers. The clashes, which mostly took place around Tahrir Square and the Ministry of Interior, left 1114 wounded, according to the Ministry of Health.
EIPR recommended that the investigations into the events conclude by developing procedures for breaking up demonstrations. It also recommended that those implementing the procedures be required to declare their commitment to Egyptian law and international standards. The results of the investigations should be published in full, it said, and those responsible for violations put on trial.
The rights group also urged the Ministry of Interior to provide a plan to dissolve the Central Security Forces and restructure it as a professional force, trained to maintain security and public order without violating the law. The plan should include a clear timetable, as well as training and appropriate rehabilitation for the security personnel, it said.
