A prominent activist filed a claim with the public prosecutor Thursday accusing former senior military leaders of killing protesters since the start of the 25 January revolution, in addition to other accusations.
The claim, filed by Ahmed Douma, founder of the Coalition Against the Military Junta and the Muslim Brotherhood, says that former head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Hussein Tantawi, former military Chief of Staff Sami Anan, former head of the military police Hamdy Badeen and former commander of the Central Military Zone Hassan al-Roweiny were responsible for killing and attempting to kill civilians during violent events on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, outside the Cabinet building, outside the Maspero state television building, and in Abbasseya. It also alleges that the former leaders illegally profited from their positions.
The claim accuses the commander of the military's paratroopers division of inciting the burning of the Institut d'Egypte in December of last year. Douma's claim also charges that this commander planned to kill protesters.
Douma told Al-Masry Al-Youm that his claim demands the former military leaders be tried for killing protesters.
Douma deprecated President Mohamed Morsy's recent decision to grant some senior military leaders, whom the president pushed into retirement earlier this week, government medals. "[The generals] who are mentioned in this claim gave direct orders to kill protesters," he said. He did not explain the evidence behind this charge.
"Murderers must be held accountable in order to send a strong-worded message stressing the ability of revolutionaries to avenge the murders of the [revolution's] martyrs," Douma said.
Douma also called for the release of people currently held in military custody.
"There is no pretext to leave them in detention," he said, especially now that the generals they were detained under have been sent to retirement. He added that anger over the continued detentions was one of the factors that brought President Morsy to power.
On Sunday, Morsy ordered Tantawi, Anan, and other senior military leaders to retirement, in the most drastic shuffle of the country's military leadership since Morsy assumed power at the end of June.
Concurrent with their retirement, Tantawi and Anan were appointed advisers to the president. Tantawi was given the Nile Medal, the highest state honor in Egypt, and Anan was awarded the State Medal.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
