The Legislative Committee of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) held a panel discussion on Wednesday on fair criminal trials, preparing recommendations that will be presented to parliament.

The event was organized in cooperation with the European Union, a donor partner, according to a statement by the NCHR on Friday.

It was attended by a group of law experts, university professors, senators and Mps, as well as representatives of the lawyers syndicate, judicial bodies and civil society.

The discussions tackled topics including human rights during investigations, the problems of, and alternatives to, pretrial detention, as well as the importance of fair and public trials, and technological alternatives.

The sessions produced a number of recommendations that will be considered by the Egyptian parliament when they amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, the statement added.

Khattab also stressed the need to look at the punitive philosophy and its purpose, given that the goal should be to prevent the causes of crime and to rehabilitate and integrate those who violated the law.

Ahram Online