Minister of Justice Ahmed Seliman chaired the first meeting of the National Coordination Committee for Combatting Corruption (NCCCC) on Monday.
The committee’s first meeting was held at the ministry’s headquarters to discuss the proposed witness protection law drafted by the ministry.
Former Minister of Justice Ahmed Mekki asked the NCCCC to work on anti-terrorism measures after Egypt’s rank in combatting terrorism fell to 116th place on a global list, reported state-owned Al-Ahram. The former minister believed that the legislative basis for combatting terrorism should include a conflict of interest law, a witness protection law and a free flow of information law.
Seliman said that the witness protection law would offer protection to those who witness acts of corruption or terrorism from those they are reporting. “The most important factor that should be present when combatting terrorism is for people to exercise self-censorship,” Seliman said during the meeting, reported state-owned news agency MENA.
The law also protects the witnesses’ relatives up to and including the fourth-degree, reported Al-Ahram. It will create a legal system which keeps witnesses’ data confidential.
Seliman praised Mekki’s efforts in creating this law, MENA said.
