Rights groups demand Rabaa and Nahda fact-finding commission declare findings

A group of human rights organizations in Egypt demanded that the fact-finding commission researching the pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda last year release its results "The human rights and transitional justice organizations qualitative union demands that the fact-finding commission – headed by international criminal tribunal judge, Fouad Riad – commission assigned to investigate the Rabaa and Nahda sit-ins announce its findings publicly and to present its report to the government " said a statement on Monday. The human rights organizations added that the fact-finding commission should have already presented its final report within six months of its formation in December 2013 by interim president Adly Mansour but instead demanded a three month extension. The statement also mentioned that following the dispersal of Rabaa and Nahda sit-ins many churches and Christians' houses were torched – particularly in Upper Egypt in a wave of violence across the country between pro-Morsi supporters and security forces where hundreds were killed and injured from both sides. The statement also demanded the Egyptian government implement the recommendations issued by the National Council for Human Rights regarding the Rabaa and Nahda sits-in, including an independent judicial investigation into the sits-in and their dispersal. In March, the National Council for Human Rights issued a report on the Pro-Morsi sit-ins, stating that 632 people had been killed during the dispersal, including eight police officers; 1492 people were injured. Despite its demand for the release of the fact-finding committee's results, the rights organisations said that pro-Morsi sit-ins violated the protected right for peaceful protests, as sit-ins were not peaceful and included human rights violations such as torture, weapon possession, using children as human shields and blocking highways. Among the members of the human rights organizations and transitional justice qualitative union that signed the statement was the Egyptian organization for human rights, the African organization for training and human rights and the Egyptian center for women's rights. Human Rights Watch has already announced earlier Monday that it would release on Tuesday a 200-page report on the dispersal of sit-ins at Rabaa and Nahda.