The Detained Youth Committee will hold its first session on Saturday, prioritising the conditions of detained youth, particularly students and women, member of parliament and committee member Tarek El-Khouly said on Thursday. El-Khouly explained that the committee decided to begin its work with the issue of detained students in order to help them continue in their studies. The committee created an online form for families to add information regarding their detained relatives, which the committee will then use to look into individual cases. Regarding those detained that are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the MP explained that several families stated in letters to the committee that their sons were randomly arrested during protests, and that the committee will have to look into these complaints in order to check their validity. The committee intends to look into other issues involving detainees once the results of discussions regarding pre-trial detainees has concluded. It will only look into the conditions of pre-trial detainees arrested in cases related to freedom of expression, and not those related to violence. The committee cannot do anything for those already serving prison sentences. The committee will work in coordination with the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, civil society organisations, political parties, and the state-affiliated National Council for Human Rights. The committee was created during President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's National Youth Conference, following statements by prominent politician Osama Al-Ghazaly Harb to release detainees in cases related to freedom of expression.
