CAIRO: A fact-finding committee responsible for investigating the events over the handling by security services of the protests that erupted across Egypt on January 25, which turned into an 18-day uprising across the country that led to the ousting of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, issued its official report this week and was highlighted by nearly all Egyptian newspapers and websites. The report indicted Mubarak, saying either he “gave orders to kill the protesters or by being responsible for these orders as he headed the supreme council for police and the Ministry of Interior and accused it of using snipers from the counter- Terrorism Unit of the dismantled State Security Apparatus were placed over the rooftops of buildings to kill the peaceful protesters.” “The shooting lasted for several days and Mubarak didn't order to stop using live ammunition. That confirms his involvement and responsibility,” Omar Marwan, the committee's secretary general said during a press conference. The report said that using live ammunition against protesters cannot occur without orders by the minister of interior himself. Habib al-Adly, the former minister is facing corruption charges and the killing of protestors. He is currently being held at Tora prison pending investigations. The committee said that police “shot the protesters in their chests and heads with live ammunition, and fired rubber bullets causing a large number of deaths, injuries and some of the protesters lost their sight.” It added that “random shots killed many civilians who were witnessing the demonstrations from their houses' windows.” The committee was formed by the Egyptian Cabinet and headed by Judge Adel Qoura and other members who volunteered to gather proof and conclusions about the events of the revolution. The committee stated that at least 846 were killed during the Egyptian revolution through February 16 and that 6,467 were injured. These statistics were confirmed by a recent report by the ministry of health. The committee added that around 189 prisoners were killed and 26 police officers were also among the dead. The fact-finding committee confirmed that there were snipers shooting from rooftops and that the “police and interior ministry were responsible for organizing and carrying out the attacks.” The report states that the committee watched videos that confirm several prisons saw open fire from security forces, “deliberately causing a security vacuum and a state of vandalism through encouraging and sometimes forcing the inmates to flee.” However, it added that some prisons were opened fire upon by external armed groups that do “not likely belong to Egyptian security.” The report confirmed that the Egyptian police used excessive forces and live ammunition against peaceful protesters on January 28 and 29, and also hinted at the involvement of the two sons of the ousted president, Alaa and Gamal, former speaker of the Shura Council Safwat el-Sheriff and NDP member and Business tycoon Ibrahim Kamel in inciting the killing of the protesters and hiring paid thugs to end the sit-in by the protesters who called for the ouster of Mubarak, in what was known in media as the “battle of camels.” The report suggested that Sheriff was the “main instigator and the rest are the masterminds of this battle, which took place on February 2 and left dozens of protesters dead and hundreds injured.” The report said that elements from the police wearing plainclothes infiltrated Tahrir Square along with pro-Mubarak thugs and attacked the peaceful protesters, and also noted the illegal detentions, and the intentional security vacuum caused by the withdrawal of police forces from the streets after violent clashes with thousands of protestors. The report of the fact-finding committee also left recommendations for the current leadership to avoid the reasons the committee believes were behind spearheading the revolution. Among those recommendations, include the “issuing a new constitution that ensures democracy; revising all the laws that inhibit freedom in Egypt, such as laws that govern political participation, revising taxes on businessmen, revising the education system and issuing a law criminalizing any religious, political or racial discrimination.” The report is based on the accounts of 17,058 officials and eyewitnesses along with 800 video clips and pictures obtained from individuals who were present at the protests. BM
