The ACIJLP condemns the killing of Egyptian soldiers in Rafah as a crime against humanity

 Cairo 20^th August 2013

 

The ACIJLP condemns the killing of Egyptian soldiers in Rafah as a crime against humanity

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its full condemnation of the heinous crime which claimed the lives of 25 Egyptian soldiers in Rafah, on the Sinai Peninsula on Monday 19^th August 2013.

The ACIJLP stresses that this kind of murder of Egyptian soldiers after their captures, which is a crime against humanity, agreed to be criminalized in all norms and international conventions, and represents an explicit departure on the principles and provisions of international human rights law, and a violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions.

The ACIJLP points out that the occurrence of such crime in the manner stated by the Egyptian authorities including capturing the unarmed victims of the Egyptian soldiers,  indicates a very dangerous criminal to the perpetrators and those involved in the commission of this crime.

The ACIJLP believes that this crime, whether those involved in the commission of these crimes are groups or armed militias, they are aware of the attack and they carried out the attack and murder on a large scale, which indicates the availability of the elements of crimes against humanity against the perpetrators and those involved in the commission of this crime according to the Rome Statute of the international Criminal Court.

The ACIJLP is concerned, from the frequent occurrence of such heinous crimes, especially if the perpetrators who committed these crimes escaped from judicial accountability and punishment.

The ACIJLP expresses its full condemnation of this crime and calls upon concerned Egyptian authorities to exert efforts towards the disclosure of the identity of the perpetrators and bring them to a fair and equitable trial. The ACIJLP also demanded the Egyptian authorities to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.