Activists and social media activists in Egypt expressed solidarity with the lawsuit launched by human rights activist Mohamed Sultan to hold Egyptian officials accountable for his torture during his detention, and considered it a message to those responsible for torture in Egypt that the hand of justice could reach them in the future.
Under the title (# Possible Accountability), human rights activists, politicians, journalists, and many pioneers of networking sites participated in the tag launched by Sultan, stressing that it is a step on the right path, to stop the sharp increase in human rights violations that Egypt has witnessed since the military coup in the summer of 2013.
The Egyptian political activist, who holds American citizenship, filed a lawsuit in a court in Washington against current and former senior Egyptian officials, with a claim that he was tortured during his detention in Egypt for nearly two years, because of his anti-military activity after the overthrow of late President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Sultan confirmed in his tweets that the legal move is not aimed at political or intellectual victories, but rather accountability, justice and the prevention of torture.
This legal movement is not aimed at political or intellectual victories. It seeks to achieve accountability and justice and to try to deter and prevent torture.
Full statement of a lawsuit against those responsible for torturing me: # Possible_accounting pic.twitter.com/YhZ5BXPvVq
- Mohamed Soltan Muhammad Sultan (@soltanlife) June 1, 2020
Activists said that the legal move announced by Sultan is an important step in trying to stop the "monster train", noting that it opens the door for detainees, current or former, to file similar lawsuits.
Moghradoun considered that the prosecution can contribute, at least, to alleviating torture and human rights violations, for fear of legal consequences in the future, especially since the Egyptian regime does not have strong means of pressure on the international judiciary.
Activists emphasized that accountability and lack of impunity are the only guarantors of stemming violations, and some of them pointed out that Sultan's lawsuit is "a message for every executioner that he will be exposed to account no matter how long it takes."
Others lamented the lack of justice in Egypt, the control of the regime of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi over the judiciary, and the "nationalization of the Egyptian judicial system and its subjugation to the individual ruler," which prompted activists and the oppressed to turn to the American and international courts.
Human rights activists called on the families of Egyptian torture victims from all political directions to establish an association to hold accountable those responsible for the torture of their families.
The first resort to the international judiciary to hold Sisi officials accountable for torture and other crimes and prevent their crimes from escaping due to the nationalization of the Egyptian judicial system and subjecting it to the individual ruler @ soltanlife # can_account https://t.co/pNaRiXTw9F
- Bahey eldin Hassan (@BaheyHassan) June 1, 2020
Mohamed Sultan @soltanlife filed a lawsuit today in Washington against Egyptian officials accused of torturing him. The case is the first of its kind and may not be the last.
Greetings to you, O Muhammad, and you may have awakened others. # Possible - You can be charged at any time and place, Pasha. https://t.co/EMK8wlO8yJ
- Amr Waked (@amrwaked) June 1, 2020
It is unfortunate that the Egyptian citizen is compelled to resort to international courts to obtain justice that has been absent from his homeland, and even those responsible for justice in Egypt are tried for complicity in torture. This is a very important transfer to pursue torture files in Egypt, which will have what follows #Accountable_https: // t .co / M2MxhCSi2E
- Jamal Sultan (@ GamalSultan1) June 1, 2020
This case mainly targets # Al-Beblawy residing in Washington and one of the accused in the fourth massacre that killed more than a thousand Egyptians and wounded thousands of others in the largest massacre against peaceful protesters in history and will
affect others who will arrive in Washington and do not enjoy immunity from litigation until they lose their immunity. # Possible_account .twitter.com / Nx0wf5tB9E
- Usama Rushdi (@OsamaRushdi) June 1, 2020
Muhammad Sultan filed a lawsuit against former Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawy (resident of Washington) https://t.co/89XM0UMXSg
Ezzedine Fishere (@FishereEzzedine) June 1, 2020
The Washington Post newspaper said the lawsuit - filed by Sultan, 32, on Monday in a court in the District of Columbia in the US capital - targeted Hazem al-Beblawy as the first suspect as the one who directed his mistreatment when he was Prime Minister, but it also includes the current President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the director of His previous bureau, Abbas Kamel, who currently heads the General Intelligence Service, and three former leaders of the Ministry of Interior, are demanding in the lawsuit that Sultan pursue them if they enter the United States.
The newspaper added that the 46-page lawsuit - filed by the son of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Salah Sultan - was based on a law passed in 1991 in the United States, which allowed torture survivors to prosecute their torturers for compensation for the damage they had suffered.
According to The Washington Post, foreign leaders are mostly immune from civil lawsuits in the United States, but noted that the Torture Victims Protection Act allows for claims against people involved in torture operations anywhere in the world to be present if they are in the United States and are no longer in power in their countries.