By Aya Nader
The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) on Tuesday refused the resignation of renowned human rights lawyer Nagad Al-Boraie.
NCHR Deputy Chairman Abdel Ghaffar Shokr said Al-Boraie had then been invited to the next meeting, but “his resignation should be a warning sign to the government.”
Al-Boraie criticised the relationship between NCHR and the government, telling CBC channel Monday night that, “the government does not take the council seriously.”
Shokr said that Boraie had been driven to resign based on the government’s repeated ignoring of the council’s advice and requests, with Boraie lamenting that “the government does not take the council seriously.” This includes the council’s expression of concern over the new Protest Law in November 2013, and its suggestion to establish United Nations regional office in Egypt – both of which were dismissed, Shokr said.
According to the chairman, “fighting terrorism” has caused restrictions to freedom, enfeebling the overall state of human rights in Egypt.
In his resignation statement on Monday, Al-Boraie wrote he had made the decision because of “the council’s need for a new law and clear work strategy that allows it to communicate with international institutions … to convince the world that its main role is defending human rights, regardless of affiliations and political positions … and advise [the government] on putting human rights principals into practice.”
He also condemned the violence in last Saturday’s clashes between protesters and security forces, while questioning the accuracy of the state morgue’s forensic reports. “No one is allowed to attend the autopsy,” he said. “They only state that a person died from a bullet; they do not mention its type, size, whether it belongs to security forces or not… This may lead to false accusations against the security forces or the protestors.”
Al-Boraie had sent his resignation to Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi and NCHR President Mohammad Fayek.
Al-Boraie is a prominent human rights lawyer and a main partner in the United Group firm for attorneys, legal researchers and human rights advocates. He is the general supervisor of the project “Towards Social Programmes Enforcing Transparency.”
