MENA editor-in-chief 'would have killed one million Rabaa protesters'

The editor-in-chief of Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) told reporters in New York that, if he were the president, he would have killed "one million protesters" at the Rabaa sit-in - in order to save the other 90 million people of Egypt.

Alaa Heidar, who was appointed MENA editor-in-chief in January 2014, reportedly made the controversial statements as he accompanied Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on his visit to New York to attend the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

His outburst comes less than two months after the second anniversary of the Rabaa al-Adaweya massacre.

In August 2013, Egyptian security forces raided two sit-ins  being held in Cairo - in Rabaa al-Adaweya Square and al-Nahda Square - leaving up to 900 protesters dead, and more than 3,000 injured.

The sit-ins were held in support of former President Mohamed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military weeks earlier following popular protests.

These people kill because they want to go to heaven, not to defend a cause - Alaa Heidar

"Rabaa protesters initiated the attack," he told the reporters, contrary to the testimony of international journalists who were there at the time.

"They were repeatedly told to leave, but they refused and preferred to die there in order to go to heaven.

"They were not peaceful," Heidar added, "and they had weapons, which they used against the police."

Heidar then explained what he believed was the protesters' motive behind the sit-ins: "These people kill because they want to go to heaven, not to defend a cause."

Heidar added: "It is part of their faith. They use Islam to divide the rest of the country."

The leading journalist of the country's state-owned government mouthpiece went on to contradict even the official death toll. "Only 150 protesters were killed," he told reporters.

Not content with justifying the killing of protesters - armed or otherwise - Heidar, standing in New York, then used the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an example to justify the Rabaa massacre.

"The US killed 100-200,000 people [in Japan] to achieve security," he said. "So if I was Egypt's president, I would kill one million people in order for the other 90 million to live."

When asked about organisations that document human rights violations in Egypt, Heidar said they were not neutral.

"There is an ongoing massacre at al-Aqsa mosque now and these organisations are not speaking out against it," he said.

"They aim to bring down Arab and Muslim countries because [human rights groups] are funded by Israel."