Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Report on Army Killings Will Pressure Egypt’s Government to Prosecute

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Report on Army Killings Will Pressure Egypt’s Government to Prosecute

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Report on Army Killings Will Pressure Egypt’s Government to Prosecute

The allegations of army violence during the 2011 uprising come from a committee appointed by the president, but a new constitution may yet undermine justice.

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A new report in Egypt reveals that army personnel participated in the forced disappearance, torture and killing of protestors during the 2011 uprising. Although most Egyptians are only too aware of these crimes, the report is significant in that it comes from President Mohamed Morsi's own handpicked commission, Nation contributor Sharif Abdel Kouddous told Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on Democracy Now!

"It puts pressure on the government to put the army officers on trial," Kouddous said.

However, Egypt's controversial new constitution stipulates that members of the army be charged in military courts, which calls into doubt the likeliness that those guilty will be fairly prosecuted, Kouddous said.

Alec Luhn

Read Max Blumenthal on the Muslim Brotherhood's crackdown on the media.

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