Speaking to ILKHA NEWS AGENCY about the coup d'état and subsequent human rights abuses conducted by Sisi administration in Egypt, human rights activist Selma Ashraf stressed that they would defend the rights of the Egyptian people at all cost.

Stating that she is a researcher on Egypt at Human Rights Monitor, an independent, non-profit organization based in London, Ashraf said: "I was documenting human rights abuses in Egypt both before and during the coup process. After the coup, I went to Rabia Al-Adeviyye and Nahda squares. I've witnessed the abuses before the massacres around here. Live bullets and tear gas were used here. The innocent people, who took to the streets just to organize demonstrations, were shot to death at random."

Pointing out that people took to streets in order to defend the political choice will they had made in election, Ashraf said: "I was in Rabia Square on the day of the massacre were committed against the civilians. We expected a coup at any moment. Youths were always regularly checking whether vehicles from military points were heading towards Rabia Square. At about 07: 00 in the morning, I saw some military vehicles going in convoy towards Rabia Square. I immediately started walking down to the square. When I reached the square, I saw that some of the demonstrators here were martyrs. I had a hard time getting into the square. Because on the upper floors of buildings, snipers were firing at demonstrators at random. Fires were lit on a huge scale. Smoke was rising from all sides. The tear gas was fired at the demonstrators unusually. I was completely out of breath. In addition, it caused extreme burns on the skin."

"There has never been such a massacre in the history of Egypt."

Ashraf continued: "It was as if those in Rabia Square had caught in a death trap. The people were shot to death at random. It was raining bullets all over us. We could see with our eyes that one by one martyrs were falling to the ground everywhere. In Rabia Square were women, children and even babies who had not been weaned yet. Those in Rabia Square did not anticipate that Sisi would commit such an atrocity. We could never have predicted that live bullets would be used, especially against civilian people. There has never been such a massacre in the history of Egypt. Egypt is known for being a military state, but no one knew they would shed blood in such a brutal manner.

"Those who were in the squares were only trying to protect themselves by pelting stones"

"Women and children flocked to the squares. People were staying in tents that were set up in Squares. However, on the day of the attack, the gunfire went on all the day. There was always the sound of armored vehicles and helicopters. All these attacks were being carried out against people who had no crime and only staged peaceful demonstrations. There was nothing that people could do against the gunfire. All they could do was to try to protect themselves from attacks. They were trying to protect themselves by throwing stones. In addition, that was people's right to self-defense. None of those in the Square had weapons.

"Many bodies were set on fire and burned by Sisi's soldiers"

Emphasizing that not only the massacres were committed in Rabia and Nahda Squares but also in all around Egypt, Ashraf said: "The numerous massacres were carried out in Mustafa Mahmut Square and other cities of Egypt. People had all taken to the streets and squares to counter the atrocities. There were countless casualties and we could not take them all with us. Unfortunately, we did not get many of them so we had to leave them where they were. Many bodies were set on fire and burned by Sisi's soldiers. Unfortunately, most of the bodies were destroyed by Sisi soldiers, almost swept away by bulldozers. We still do not know whether those injured that day were alive or were taken to the dungeons. So far, there have been thousands of missing people in Egypt. We do not know anything about the fate of the missing people.

"Those who were imprisoned were severely tortured"

Reminding that thousands of women were also taken to the dungeons after the coup, Ashraf said: "The people in the squares were being put in cars and transported to the dungeons. Until some of them were seen in courtrooms, we have not heard from them for a long time. Until some of them were seen in courtrooms. Of course, these courts were completely unfair. About 60 people were sentenced to death in military courts and temporary courts in different departments. The death sentences imposed by these courts were executed. They said before the courts, ' They forced us to admit these crimes in torture. We have been forced to accept these crimes under conditions of severe torture.' The judges of the court knew very well that they were not guilty. Elderly women were arrested and subjected to severe torture. One of the women who was subjected to this torture was completely paralyzed due to the very severe torture.

"Many people are dying in dungeons due to inhumane living conditions"

Ashraf noted that the repression was not only done to members of the Muslim Brotherhood community, but the strongest opposition group was the Muslim Brotherhood community and added: "The Muslim Brotherhood is known as the most powerful opposition force in Egypt. Anyone who talks about rights and freedoms is considered an enemy by the regime. Those who make such a claim are immediately thrown into prison. There are now about 150 women in the dungeons. They were imprisoned for their dissent. There are lawyers, journalists, college students among them. There are lawyers, journalists, college students. They were thrown into the prisons, though they did not commit any crime."

"Sisi administration is committing war crimes in the Sinai Peninsula."

Ashraf concluded as follows: "Those who are not in prison, even those who are not subjected to Sisi's atrocities, cannot live a dignified life. Many have difficulty finding even their daily food. People have been deprived of fundamental human rights. For example, the Sinai Peninsula issue is an important issue. It is not something we can talk about here in a few minutes, but I would also like to say that there is a war crime going on about people live there right now. They are forced out of their homes and their homes are destroyed by bombs. Women and children are losing their lives because of these bombings. How could Egypt state still be a member of the United Nations despite carrying out so many massacres against its own people? We as Egyptians want this regime to change. We will not accept anything other than that. We will continue our campaigns and work there. We will continue to defend the rights of all Egyptian people, whether they are ordinary people or people put in prisons. We will continue to support our brothers who cannot express themselves and seek their own rights. We will continue to defend their rights as possible. We will continue our efforts until we die."

Sisi's coup d'état in Egypt

The Egyptian coup d'état took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el- Sisi led a junta to remove Egypt's first democratically elected President, Muhammed Mursi, from power and suspended the Egyptian Constitution of 2012.The military junta arrested Morsi and many Muslim Brotherhood members.

Egyptian state television announced on 17 June 2019 that Morsi had collapsed during a court hearing in Cairo, and later died suddenly, reportedly of a heart attack. He was buried in Cairo alongside other senior figures of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Human right organizations as well as many people who know about the inhumane conditions in the Egyptian dungeons blamed the conditions of the trial for Morsi's death, saying that the conditions he was held under were the cause. Mohamed Sudan, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood member based in London, had described his death as "premeditated murder". Crispin Blunt, who had led a panel of British parliamentarians that had reviewed the conditions Morsi was held under in March 2018, said that, "We feared that if Dr. Morsi was not provided with urgent medical assistance, the damage to his health may be permanent and possibly terminal" and that "sadly, we have been proved right." (ILKHA)