Egypt
After the army removed President Mohamed Morsy in July 2013, police and army forces killed more than 1,150 protesters in July and August 2013, most at the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in on 14 August (at least 817 dead, HRW). More than 41,000 people were arrested or charged in the first ten months, most suspected Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Courts handed down mass death sentences, including 529 and 683 in two Minya trials in 2014. Detainees have been tortured, forcibly disappeared and denied medical care in prisons such as the Scorpion; up to 958 died in custody by the end of 2019. In North Sinai the army demolished thousands of homes and evicted about 100,000 people.
Key numbers
Who is responsible
The Egyptian army and police under the government that took power in July 2013 and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (from June 2014); the Interior Ministry's National Security Agency; criminal and military courts that issued mass death sentences.
Timeline
- 2013 Rabaa and Nahda dispersals, 14 August: at least 904 killed in one day (HRW).
- 2014 Minya court sentences 529, then 683 people to death in mass trials.
- 2015 Army demolishes 2,715 buildings for a buffer zone in Rafah.
- 2016 HRW documents abuse in Scorpion prison; 912 enforced disappearances in a year (ECRF).
- 2018 75 death sentences in the Rabaa mass trial.
- 2019 Morsy dies in custody; 4,400+ arrested after September protests.
- 2020 Essam al-Erian dies in Scorpion prison; dozens of political detainees die in custody.
Records (18)
Deaths in custody 2013–2019
The Geneva-based Committee for Justice estimated that up to 958 detainees died in custody between June 2013 and December 2019, many apparently from inadequate medical care.
958 killed
Source: HRW World Report 2021: Egypt
Mass arrests after the 2013 coup
More than 41,000 people were arrested or faced criminal charges between July 2013 and May 2014, according to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights cited by HRW, most of them suspected Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
41,000 detained
Source: HRW World Report 2015: Egypt
Scorpion (Aqrab) prison
Tora Maximum Security Prison, known as the Scorpion, held about 1,000 prisoners by relatives' estimate, many of them political detainees after 2013. HRW documented beatings, weeks in 'discipline' cells, banned visits and denied medical care; at least six inmates died during or soon after a 2015 visit ban.
1,000 detained6–7 killed
Republican Guard headquarters killings
On 8 July 2013 army units opened fire on crowds of Morsy supporters outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo. The Forensic Medical Authority counted 61 protesters killed; two officers were also killed.
61 killed
Manassa Memorial killings
On 27 July 2013 police and plainclothes armed men acting with security forces shot and killed 95 protesters near the Manassa (Unknown Soldier) Memorial in Nasr City, according to the Forensic Medical Authority.
95 killed
Rabaa al-Adawiya dispersal
On 14 August 2013 police, supported by the army, dispersed the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in with live fire, killing at least 817 people and likely more than 1,000, according to Human Rights Watch. The government's Forensic Medical Authority gave 627 dead.
817–1,000 killed
Nahda Square dispersal
On the same day as Rabaa, 14 August 2013, security forces dispersed the al-Nahda sit-in in Giza; the Ministry of Health counted 87 killed.
87 killed
Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque destroyed
The Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, centre of the sit-in, was destroyed on 14 August 2013 when security forces cleared the square; bodies had been gathered in the nearby Iman Mosque. The mosque was later rebuilt under the armed forces.
1 mosques & sacred places destroyed
Source: Wikipedia: Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque · HRW: All According to Plan (Raba massacre report)
Ramses Square and Azbakiya killings
On 16 August 2013 police at the Azbakiya police station near Ramses Square opened fire on hundreds of protesters; the Forensic Medical Authority counted at least 120 protesters killed and two policemen.
120 killed
Minya mass death sentences (March)
On 24 March 2014 a criminal court in Minya sentenced 529 (BBC: 528) supporters of Mohamed Morsy to death after a trial of under an hour; most were tried in absentia.
Source: HRW World Report 2015: Egypt · BBC: Egypt court sentences 528 Morsi supporters to death
Minya mass death sentences (April)
In a second Minya trial in April 2014 the judge recommended death for 683 defendants, including Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie; on 21 June 2014 the court confirmed death sentences for 183.
Source: HRW World Report 2015: Egypt · BBC: Court confirms Egypt Muslim Brotherhood death sentences
Rafah buffer zone demolitions
Between October 2014 and August 2015 the armed forces demolished 2,715 buildings and evicted thousands of families on the border with Gaza. HRW later said the military had forcibly evicted about 100,000 North Sinai residents since 2014.
2,715 mosques & sacred places destroyed100,000 displaced
Source: HRW World Report 2016: Egypt · HRW World Report 2020: Egypt
Enforced disappearances
Between August 2015 and August 2016 the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms documented 912 victims of enforced disappearance; National Security officers routinely tortured suspects during these disappearances, HRW said.
912 detained
Source: HRW World Report 2017: Egypt
Rabaa mass trial death sentences
In September 2018 a Cairo Criminal Court handed down 75 death sentences in a mass trial over the August 2013 Rabaa dispersal events.
Source: HRW World Report 2019: Egypt
Execution of nine after torture claims
In February 2019 Egypt executed nine men; nine UN experts condemned the 'arbitrary executions' on evidence allegedly obtained under torture after seriously flawed trials.
9 killed
Source: HRW World Report 2020: Egypt
Death of Mohamed Morsy in custody
Former President Mohamed Morsy died on 17 June 2019 in a Cairo courtroom after six years of lack of medical care and near-absolute isolation in prison. Two UN experts said the conditions 'may have directly led' to his death.
1 killed
Source: HRW World Report 2020: Egypt
Mass arrests after September 2019 protests
Authorities rounded up more than 4,400 people in a mass arrest campaign after rare anti-government protests on 20 September 2019.
4,400 detained
Source: HRW World Report 2020: Egypt
Essam al-Erian dies in Scorpion prison
In August 2020 Essam al-Erian, 66, a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, died in Tora's Scorpion Prison after seven years in near-total isolation. HRW said dozens of political detainees died in custody in 2020, apparently from inadequate medical care.
1 killed
Source: HRW World Report 2021: Egypt