CAIRO, Aug 30 (Aswat Masriya) – Head of the Human Rights committee in Egypt's parliament, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, submitted his resignation on Tuesday due to the parliament's "lack of cooperation" in the committee's affairs, he said.

In his resignation letter addressed to the parliament's speaker Ali Abdel Aal, Sadat stated that the parliament failed to address numerous memoranda and requests previously made by the committee regarding "citizens' complaints".

The parliament also proved "uncooperative" with regards to communicating with the international community, respecting Egypt's international obligations and defending its image abroad, according to Sadat.

Sadat's resignation comes as the parliament's first legislative session approaches its end in October.

The parliamentarian repeatedly called for the release of hundreds of activists who were arrested in protests that have been effectively banned by the controversial protest law issued in November 2013.

Sadat is the founder of the Reform and Development Party and has been elected as a member in consecutive parliaments. He was a parliament member during ousted President Hosni Mubarak's rule, then he was elected in the 2012 parliament which was later dissolved.

Local and international rights groups have been reporting increasing human rights violations, crackdown on dissent and police abuses over the past few years.

According to the head of the National Council for Human Rights Mohamed Fayek, torture inside detention facilities presented the most pressing issue for human rights advocates in the past year.  

Meanwhile, Egypt's government has maintained that reports of violations are politicised and lack objectivity.

In June, Egypt won its seat at the United Nations main human rights body for the period 2017-2021.