is warning against a crackdown on supporters of Mohamed Morsi, after documenting a new wave of arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders, raids on media and an incident in which a protester was killed by army live fire. Since former President Mohamed Morsi was deposed on 3 July, Amnesty International has spoken to eyewitnesses who were fired on by the army in a street near Rabaa Aladaweya Square in Cairo's Nasr City that evening. Live ammunition was used on the pro-Morsi protest, and at least one demonstrator was killed. "We fear that the violence of the last few days could spiral into a new wave of human rights abuses," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme, amid reports that more pro-Morsi protesters were shot today as they marched on the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo. "It also resurrects fears of the army's abysmal record on human rights." In a statement posted on Facebook, Egypt's army said today that it would not suppress political groups and would uphold the right to protest and freedom of expression of all Egyptians. "It is hard to see evidence of the Egyptian authorities' respect for freedom of assembly and expression when soldiers have shot a protester in the head who apparently posed no threat," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. Minutes after the army announced it had deposed the President, angry pro-Morsi protesters in Rabaa Al-Adaweya Square became involved in an altercation with soldiers securing the entry of the Square, and at the gate of a nearby military compound. In the ensuing violence, the army fired live ammunition into the air and at protesters. Amnesty International verified the death of at least one 20-year old protester who was shot in the head, and that at least three others were injured. Blood lay on the street on the morning of 4 July, in front of the gate of the military compound. Amnesty International spoke to eyewitnesses in the hospital, who had been shot. They said that the army had been shooting randomly from inside the military compound near the square. One had been shot while standing in the middle of the road, far from the gate of the compound, telling Amnesty International: "I saw soldiers behind the gate of the military compound shooting in my direction." He had also seen someone on the other side of the street shot in the head. Another eyewitness present at the scene said: "I saw snipers on the roof of one of the buildings in the military compound". "The army and security forces must immediately stop using live ammunition against people posing no threat to life," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. "They must stay impartial, do everything in their power to prevent, not cause, bloodshed, and uphold the right to peaceful protest without discrimination." Under international human rights standards, law enforcement officers must not use firearms except in the imminent threat of death or serious injury, and only as a last resort. Intentional lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. Eyewitness told Amnesty International that in the afternoon of 3 July, the army had tried to disperse the protests by shooting in the air and sending armoured personnel carriers in the direction of the protest, but they were stopped by the protestors. They also stated that the army blocked the entry and exit points of the square for three hours in the afternoon. One man interviewed by Amnesty International in the hospital said his legs were broken after an altercation with an army officer in which he fell from a military vehicle, and was not able to go to the hospital for two hours as the army had sealed the square. Amnesty International is calling for an independent and impartial investigation. Previous investigations into human rights abuses by the army or security forces led by army or public prosecutors have failed to provide justice. At least two leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been imprisoned amid reports of further arrests: Deputy Leader Rashad Bayoumi and Saad El-Katatni, the Chair of the group's Freedom and Justice Party. Amnesty International is urging the authorities to either charge them with an internationally recognisable criminal offence, or release them. On 3 July, police raided television studios sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, taking the channels of-air and arresting staff. At least two people are still detained. The Ministry of Health announced today that the political violence since 28 June had left 52 dead and over 2,619 injured. Under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following the '25 January Revolution', security forces including the army killed more than 120 protesters; military courts unfairly tried over 12,000 civilians; and the army arrested women protesters and subjected them to forced ‘virginity tests'. "If human rights and the rule of law are to prevail in Egypt, the army must now ensure that these abuses are not repeated," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. "A crackdown on supporters of Morsi is simply sending the wrong signal." BN
