The killing of at least 1,150 unarmed protestors by security forces in Egypt last year was systematic and deliberate, and likely amounts to a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch says in a new report released on Tuesday.
The demonstration by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood was broken up by the military, headed by, now-president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
HRW says that security forces “followed a plan” that envisioned several thousand deaths.
“In Rab'a Square, Egyptian security forces carried out one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“This wasn’t merely a case of excessive force or poor training. It was a violent crackdown planned at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. Many of the same officials are still in power in Egypt, and have a lot to answer for.”
Roth was deported from Egypt on Monday, after arriving for the launch of the report.
The report says that Egypt's police and army "systematically and deliberately killed largely unarmed protesters on political grounds" in actions that "likely amounted to crimes against humanity".
The human rights group identified more than a dozen of the most senior leaders in the chain of command, who should be investigated for their roles in these killings, including Interior Minister Ibrahim, then-Defense Minister and current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and the Special Forces head and commander of the Rab’a operation, Medhat Menshawy.
“Where there is evidence of responsibility, these individuals should be held individually accountable for the planning and execution or failing to prevent the anticipated widespread and systematic killings of demonstrators,” a press release by the group said.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian court has banned the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing.
The ruling means that the Muslim Brotherhood, which enjoys substantial support, will not be able to run in elections expected to be held later this year.