Ten years ago this week, having recently seized power in a coup, Gen Abdel Fatah al-Sisi commanded police and troops to crack down on mostly unarmed demonstrators in central Cairo. At least 817 people died in the Rabaa massacre, and probably more than 1,000. It was not only the end of the hope for supporters of the deposed government of the Muslim Brotherhood, and for others still committed to the principle of civilian leadership despite the growing authoritarianism of president Mohamed Morsi, ousted by Gen Sisi. It was not only another blow to the optimism and excitement of the Arab spring, already fatally wounded. It was also the beginning of a new era of repression, in which Gen Sisi would prove more merciless than his predecessor Hosni Mubarak. The slaughter at Rabaa set the template for his tyranny.
Remembering the dead is all the more important when there is no foreseeable prospect of accountability for the massacre. Though Human Rights Watch believes the brutal killings are likely to constitute a crime against humanity, no member of the security forces has ever faced court over them.
