132.
The Respondent State submits that the Egyptian Police Act 109 of 1971 in
Article 102 stipulates the conditions under which police can use force, that
being that it must be “necessary as needed to carry out one’s duty, be the only
means of performing such duty in case of an assembly or demonstration that
threatens public security and only after warning those concerned.” The State
submits that any breach of the law and rules governing crowd or
demonstration dispersal or any unwarranted use of force is a crime punishable
under the Penal Code.
133.
The Respondent State submits that the investigation reports indicate the
protestors’ persistent refusal to disperse and resistance to police by using
dangerous instruments in their possession. The State alleges that the reports
further prove the fact that the police used all the means at its disposal, such as
negotiations and mediators to break up the unlawful sit-in and assembly, but
to no avail, and that the intervention to end the sit-in was done in accordance
with the law and orders to implement such law, which are in line with
international standards.
134.
The State further submits that failure to comply with national laws that govern
the exercise of rights in a host country and a refusal to end the sit-in protest in
an orderly manner in compliance with the request of the authorities constitutes
a violation of the provisions of the African Charter.
135.
The Respondent State indicates that legal reforms following the revolutions of
25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013, resulted in the adoption of a new
Constitution which contains many provisions on human rights and safeguards
for such rights, which provide a special status for international human rights
treaties “that elevate the latter practically above the law” as well as providing
for the setting up of independent and impartial national human rights
mechanisms.
136.
In response to the Complainant’s prayer that the Egyptian Government
integrates human rights into the training for security and law enforcement
officials, the Respondent State indicates that training initiatives are being taken
as part of the new Constitutional and legal realities either through the
instruction stages at the Police Academy or through the specialized sessions at
various police departments.
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