The semi-official National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) is requesting permission from the attorney general to investigate human rights violations incurred during recent clashes that began on Friday, including the conditions under which detainees are being held.
“The council will be in permanent session until this critical period is over,” said council chairman Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
On Tuesday, the council denounced the excessive use of violence in dispersing the protests. It also said that similar violence was used earlier this year at the Saudi Embassy, the Balloon Theater, the Abbasseya Square, Maspero and Mohamed Mahmoud Street, with no official indictments to date against those who incited violence during those incidents.
The council warned that the absence of legal deterrence could lead to more protests and sit-ins. It decided to form a committee to mediate dialogue between the revolutionaries and the authorities.
It is also preparing a draft law for what it called “Transitional Justice” that sets procedures for bringing citizens to justice, purging government institutions and preventing the reoccurrence of human rights violations.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
