“SPECIAL MISSION IMMUNITY” CONFIRMED FOR EGYPTIAN OFFICIAL Lt. General Mahmoud Hegazy Context Judicial review proceedings concerning the decision of the Metropolitan Police not to arrest Egyptian official, Lt. General Mahmoud Hegazy, in connection with torture allegations Suspect Lt. General Mahmoud Hegazy Country of residence of suspect Egypt Charges Torture Developments in 2018 On 19 July 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s judgment, considering that special mission immunity was a rule of customary international law, and that the Metropolitan Police’s refusal to arrest Lt. General Hegazy had been lawful. Current status Case dismissed; under judicial review Facts In August 2013, Egyptian security forces attacked a protest in support of ex-President Morsi in Rab’a al- Adawiya Square, in Cairo. More than 817 demonstrators, including women and children, were killed during the event, and numerous acts of torture are alleged to have occurred. Procedure The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) learned that Lt. General Hegazy, director of the Egyptian Military Intelligence Service in 2013, would be visiting the United Kingdom in September 2015. The FJP requested that the Metropolitan Police arrest him during his visit. The Metropolitan Police refused on the grounds that the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office had granted him special mission immunity. Lt. General Hegazy subsequently left the country. In 2016, four claimants – including the FJP, former ministers of the FJP government, and a British surgeon who worked in emergency field hospitals in Egypt – submitted an application for judicial review of the decision not to arrest Lt. General Hegazy. REDRESS and Amnesty International intervened in the proceedings. On 5 August 2016, the High Court confirmed the decision of the Metropolitan Police not to arrest Mahmoud Hegazy on the grounds that he benefited from special mission immunity. The claimants appealed the findings of the High Court. OTHER ONGOING CASES • Emirati officials accused of torture of Qatari nationals; names withheld • Vincent Bajinya, Célestin Ugirashebuja, Charles Munyaneza, Emmanuel Nteziryayo and Célestin Mutabaruka: investigation ongoing 75 Zoom in “Special missions” fall outside of accountability mechanisms The Court of Appeal confirmed the High Court’s findings that under customary international law, a State receiving a special mission is required to ensure personal inviolability and immunity from criminal proceedings for members of that special mission. It also found that this customary international law could be given effect by domestic common law (para. 135). Finally, the Court held that special mission immunity applies to jus cogens crimes such as torture (para. 108).