Amnesty critical of failure to hold Egyptian officials to account

No senior Egyptian official or security officer has been held accountable for killing and injuring protesters during the 2011 uprising, Amnesty International says in a new report.

More than 840 people died and 6,600 were injured, during 18 days of protests but, according to Amnesty, courts continue to acquit officials on the basis of claims that they were exercising the right of self-defence “despite well-documented evidence that police used excessive and lethal force when not necessary”.

They sought to crush dissent when protesters posed “no threat . . . In some instances, the security forces drove into [them] in armoured vehicles”. Since the uprising, officials have “sought legitimacy” by “hailing the martyrs and their sacrifices”.

Amnesty dubs the lack of accountability a “festival of acquittal for all” which has undermined the aspirations of Egyptians for justice and reparation and given rise to “loss of faith in public institutions and despair”.