Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Ali Bishr said that the decision to cooperate with the June 30 fact-finding commission does not signal any recognition of the current authorities.
Bishr, a former local development minister under ousted president Morsi, pointed out that any cooperation with local or international rights groups is on the conditioned of their impartiality and independence.
He added that “the experience of the families of victims and the national forces in dealing with rights groups allied with the military-backed authorities are not positive, which have been manifested in the “shameful” report by the National Council on Human Rights on the Rabaa Massacre.
Bishr said he had a phone conversation with the head of the commission, who “confirmed the independence of the commission and his interest in the supremacy of the rule of law”.
He also received a call from the spokesman of the commission, Omar Marwan, who requested an appointment to submit further testimonies and documentation by victims.
“We agreed to meet on Monday to submit what we have, and in light of the reports which will be issued we will decide whether to deal with the commission in the future or not. We hope the experience this time will be positive and that the commission will fulfil its promise of impartiality,” he told Anadolu.
He reiterated that the anti-coup alliance does not view the current authorities as legitimate.
“The crimes committed by the commanders of the coup have targeted all Egyptians, not just the Muslim Brotherhood. Thus, when we move in that direction we are defending the rights of the entire nation with all its constituents” he said.
The Brotherhood’s decision to work with the fact-finding commission is a shift in their position after sources from within the group confirmed its rejection of any cooperation with the commission because of its earlier disregard for their testimonies on the Rabaa massacre.
Following the military’s ouster of Mohamed Morsi on July 3, 2013, his supporters staged sit-ins in Rabaa and Nahda squares in Cairo for 48 days until police and army troops forcibly dispersed the two sit-ins, leading to over a thousand deaths and thousands of injuries.
On December 22, a presidential decree ordered the formation of an independent commission, led by Judge Fouad Abdelmonem Riyad, to collect information and evidence on the post-June 30 events.
The commission is tasked with investigating several incidents, including the dispersal of Rabaa and Nahda sit-in and the burning of churches, university riots and the attempt to disrupt the Suez Canal waterway.
The commission is scheduled to complete its work by September 21.