Amnesty International says that abuses by Egyptian police and military continued with impunity after regime change and Hosni Mubarak's ouster, and urges the country's newly elected leader to deal with this "bloody legacy" by bringing to justice those responsible for killing, maiming and abusing protesters.
Two extensive reports released by the London-based human rights group in Cairo on Tuesday detail cases of rights abuses by the troops after Mubarak left office in February 2011, focusing on six separate incidents of crackdowns that killed at least 120 protesters.
Amnesty said thousands of protesters were injured or maimed — with documented cases of loss of eyesight — during the crackdowns, and that detainees were tortured in custody.
For such practices to halt, those responsible must be brought to trial before an independent, civilian court, said Suzanne Nossel, the executive director of Amnesty International USA.