The appointment of a civilian judge to investigate the responsibility of three prominent former Egyptian generals for the abuse of protesters is an opportunity for President Morsi to push for accountability for abuses committed under military rule, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.

According to HRW, military courts which have sole jurisdiction over any acts committed by military personnel have failed time and again to properly investigate military abuses against protesters. Only two cases were referred for trial, in which prosecutors did not examine senior responsibility in giving orders to commit abuses or failing to prevent crimes by subordinates.

Deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, Joe Stork, said:

“Over the past year and a half, the military has been getting away with murder, torture, and sexual assault, because military investigators were unwilling to seriously investigate their own,”

“If backed by full support from the political authorities, this civilian investigation could become the first serious step toward reversing the impunity the military has enjoyed so far.”

“A shift toward a human-rights-respecting culture can only occur in Egypt if it is based on accountability for the most serious abuses of the past year,”

“Giving the civilian justice system jurisdiction over military abuses committed against civilians is the first step in that direction.”

See here for full HRW press release.