A man named Ashraf Al-Kazaz was shot dead by police forces on Monday during a security raid. The Ministry of Interior accused him of killing and planning to attack officers, while several human rights groups suspect he was killed following his arrest.
On Monday, the ministry released a statement clarifying that Al-Kazaz was killed in action because he resisted arrest. The statement mentioned that he was sentenced to death in a criminal case in which he was accused of killing officers and mutilating their bodies in 2013, following the forced dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in.
The statement clarified that he was involved in several attacks against security headquarters and the planting of several bombs.
Meanwhile, Al-Shihab Human Rights Centre and the Human Rights Monitor mentioned that Al-Kazaz was arrested and “eliminated” by police forces, accusing the authorities of committing the crime of extrajudicial killing.
Al-Kazaz, an Islamist, was reportedly active in anti-government protests in Giza since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Al-Kazaz, a carpenter, has been on the run for three years.
Several political suspects, involved in violence-related cases, have reportedly been arrested and then shot by police officers—a narrative the ministry rejects and condemns.
