182.
The Complainants allege that to date, no attempts have been made by the
Egyptian authorities to bring to account any of the law enforcement officials
responsible for the human rights violations which occurred in the park, and
that no investigation or independent inquiry into the events has been carried
out. While noting that there is no responsibility on affected persons to request
for an inquiry as it should be triggered automatically by the events, they refer
to three separate occasions on which petitions were made, first on behalf of all
the protesters and thereafter on behalf of specific persons. The Complainants
allege that the initial case was declared closed on the basis that the security
officials responsible for the violations had not been identified, and that under
Egyptian law there is no description of the alleged crime of protestors losing
their lives while resisting riot police. The further submissions were not
considered since the specific people had not been identified in the original
request which had been brought on behalf of “all the protesters affected”.
183.
The State in response asserts that the allegation that Egypt had failed to
conduct a proper and impartial investigation is unsound. They state that police
officers opened an official enquiry into the deaths, injuries and damage to
public property and that the evidence was sent to the GPA. According to the
State the report of the GPA concluded that the charges of premeditated murder
and use of brutality against the Egyptian police would be dropped, “because
the perpetrator is not identified according to the testimony of the victims who
did not name the perpetrator” and instructed the police to continue to
investigate the matter internally.
184.
The Respondent State in addition submits that the deaths were attributed to
stampede and pandemonium. In response to the Complainant’s prayer for
compensation, the Respondent State indicates that Victims can resort to the
Courts to claim compensation for harm suffered in accordance with the rules
of criminal, civil and administrative liability, and that the Public Prosecutor’s
statement that no grounds exist for a criminal prosecution because the culprit
is unidentified does not constitute an impediment for the Victim to filing for a
reinvestigation if fresh evidence emerges or in a civil claim.
185.
Firstly, the Commission has to note that particularly in relation to the right to
life, the duty is on the State to initiate investigations and ensured that they are
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