by Nourhan Dakroury
The general prosecution issued on Monday an arrest warrant for two police officers to investigate them for the death of 36 prisoners being transported to Abou Zaabal prison on Sunday.
The prosecution also ordered three others, including a police officer, to be placed under arrest in hospital until they can be investigated, according to state news agency MENA.
Thirty-six prisoners died of suffocation on Sunday in an attempt to flee from a police van while being transported to Abou Zaabal prison.
The incident has raised national and international concerns from human rights organisations, including EOHR and the UN, who were asking for prompt independent investigations into the matter.
The National Coalition to Support Legitimacy had called in its press conference on Monday for the formation of an independent international committee to investigate crimes against supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi.
As of Sunday, the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights had announced a death toll of at least 1,295 people across the country following the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza.
According to the Health Ministry, the death toll stood at 638 as of Friday.
