Rabaa sit-in dispersal anniversary: Kerdasa massacre won’t be forgotten

CAIRO – 14 August 2017: As the 4th anniversary of the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in dispersal arrives on August 14, a lot of heroic stanzas for the Egyptian police forces couldn’t be missed, including the Kerdasa massacre, in which 14 police officers were killed.

The incident took place in conjunction with the dispersal itself, as a number of armed protesters decided to attack officers and storm the Kerdasa police station after hearing that the Interior Ministry decided to disperse the sit-ins of Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares.

"A number of Kerdasa and Nahda neighborhood protesters gathered surrounding the Kerdasa police station, responding to ‘hateful’ calls demanding them to seek revenge for the allegations of killing civilians by the police officers, and so they used different kinds of weapons and started to shoot the officers,” Judge Mohamed Sherien of the Cairo Criminal Court said during the final ruling against 156 defendants involved in the case on July 2.

He added that the defendants stormed the police station and argued for the officers to surrender and hand over their weapons; however, they attacked and killed them in a “cruel way.”

On July 2, twenty defendants were sentenced to death, 80 sentenced to life and others sentenced to 10-15 years in prison by the Cairo Criminal Court, over the killing of 14 police officers in the Giza town of Kerdasa in August 2013.



Village of Kerdasa in August 2013 after Rabaa dispersal - File Photo


The initial death sentence was issued against the 20 defendants in April, and the court then referred the case to the Grand Mufti for consultation, setting July 2 as the date to issue the judgment.

In Egypt, death sentences are passed on to the Grand Mufti, who acts as the primary religious advisor to the president, before final sentencing. The Mufti’s opinion is not binding, but is traditionally followed by the judiciary.

The case includes a total of 156 defendants. They are charged with storming a police station in Kerdasa, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood at the time, dismembering their bodies and killing two passers-by. The case is known as the “Kerdasa massacre” in the Egyptian media.





The incident occurred in the aftermath of the violent dispersal of the Rabaa and Al-Nahda sit-ins, staged by the Brotherhood to demand the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi amid mass pro- and anti-Brotherhood protests.

And here is some information about six of the officers who were killed during the incident:


Major General Muhamad Jabr, police officer of Kerdasa police station

• He was killed 24-hours before his expected promotion and daughter’s wedding
• His last words: “I will not leave the station unless I’m dead.”
• To continue his father’s path, Jabr’s son joined the police academy

Captain Hisham Sheta

• Graduated in 2009
• One of the youngest of the police officers killed during the massacre
• Kerdasa police station was his third post, after 6th of October City and Abu Nomros police stations

Major General Mustafa al-Khatib

• Responsible for security campaigns against criminals in Giza
• Refused to leave the police section during Rabaa sit-in dispersal
• Decided to stay with junior officers until his death

Colonel Amer Abdel Maqsoud

• Deputy of Kerdasa police officer Muhamad Jabr
• Well-known athlete
• Used to participate in the security campaigns launched in the inhabitant locations

Captain Mohamed Farouk Nasr El Din

• Graduated in 2007
• Served in Qena Security Directorate immediately after graduating

Police Officer Tamer Saeed
• Worked as a secret detective affiliated with Kerdasa police station
• 25 years old and married with one child