By Mina Ibrahim
Friday marked the anniversary of what is known as the ‘Maspero massacre’: The killing of 25 Coptic Christians and around 200 more injured in front of the Cairo state television building Maspero, in clashes with the Egyptian armed forces.
Although the Supreme Council for Armed Forces (SCAF) claimed the army was not at fault, video footage and witnesses indicated that the army ran over demonstrators with tanks, and fired live rounds.
NGOs and Coptic social movements commemorated the events of Maspero through prayers held in churches and via demands for a critical investigation.
Members of the Egyptian Copts Coalition commemorated Maspero through a mass that they attended on Friday in the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in 6th of October City in the Giza governorate, where the victims were buried.
Families of the victims also participated in the service that saw the presence of Coptic public figures.
The 9 October movement, formed following the massacre, issued a statement on Thursday, calling on President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to compose a committee with the right to look into the military statements that gave orders to the tanks to move from their positions in front of the Maspero building.
Moreover, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) criticised the Egyptian government’s unwillingness to launch “transparent, open and fair” investigations with the political and security figures responsible for the massacre.
Through an official statement, the EIPR emphasised that members of the Military Police and SCAF should be accused of using violence against the demonstrators, and of being unable to protect them.