by John Moris Sadek
on Monday, April 18, 2011 at 9:56pm.
The protesters, many from the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam, have been sitting on train tracks, taken over government buildings and blocked main roads in the southern city of Qena, insisting the new governor won't properly implement Islamic law. A video posted on the YouTube website showed a speaker telling a crowd at the government office: "This won't work. A Copt won't implement Islamic law." According to the constitution, Islamic law is supposed to be the primary source of legislation in the country.
see why the second title in the constitution is dangerous for Egypt; I hope smart people of Egypt make a good decision regarding this title, so the country can live in peace.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
14 Old Muslim Girl Raped, Charged With Adultery, and Lashed to Death
A tragic example of Sharia perversity from Bangladesh provides ;gruesome context to the previous blog on the alleged rape victim in Libya, and her ominous predicament.
Below are the salient, if repugnant details, reported by CNN.
Her fellow villagers in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district had already passed harsh judgment on her. Guilty, they said, of having an affair with a married man. The imam from the local mosque ordered the fatwa, or religious ruling, and the punishment: 101 lashes delivered swiftly, deliberately in public. Hena dropped after 70. Bloodied and bruised, she was taken to hospital, where she died a week later. Amazingly, an initial autopsy report cited no injuries and deemed her death a suicide. Hena’s family insisted her body be exhumed. They wanted the world to know what really happened to their daughter.
Never mind that this 14-year old girl was raped. Under Islamic Law or Sharia rape is well-nigh impossible to prove, and the female victim typically is accused of “fornication,” or “adultery” and lashed, if not stoned. Despite a “ban” by ostensibly overriding secular law, Sharia law and its attendant discriminatory abuses of women compounded by barbaric punishments of these victims, persists in Bengladesh.
Hena was walking from her room to an outdoor toilet when Mahbub Khan gagged her with cloth, forced her behind nearby shrubbery and beat and raped her. Hena struggled to escape, Alya told CNN. Mahbub Khan’s wife heard Hena’s muffled screams and when she found Hena with her husband, she dragged the teenage girl back to her hut, beat her and trampled her on the floor. The next day, the village elders met to discuss the case at Mahbub Khan’s house, Alya said. The imam pronounced his fatwa. Khan and Hena were found guilty of an illicit relationship. Her punishment under sharia or Islamic law was 101 lashes; his 201. Mahbub Khan managed to escape after the first few lashes.
…activist and journalist Shoaib Choudhury, who documents such cases, said sharia is still very much in use in villages and towns aided by the lack of education and strong judicial systems. The Supreme Court also outlawed fatwas a decade ago, but human rights monitors have documented more than 500 cases of women in those 10 years who were punished through a religious ruling. And few who have issued such rulings have been charged.
The United Nations estimates that almost half of Bangladeshi women suffer from domestic violence and many also commonly endure rape, beatings, acid attacks and even death…
Sisters in Islam, a women’s advocacy group in Malaysia has reported, that in neighboring Pakistan,:
[T]hree out of four women in prison under its Hudud laws, are rape victims. Because rape is equated with zina-adultery/fornication-under Hudud law, rape victims are required to produce four pious male witnesses. It is of course nearly impossible for the rape victims to produce the four male witnesses required to prove their allegation. Therefore their police report of rape was taken as a confession of illicit sex on their part and they were duly found guilty.
In the real world, rape is unlikely to occur in the open, such that four pious males can observe the act of penetration. If they actually did witness such an act, and have not sought to prevent it, then technically they are abettors to the crime. In reality, unless the rapist confesses to the crime, women can never prove rape at all if rape is placed under syariah jurisdiction.
Wednesday November 15, 2006 under ; the Musharraf government a measure was passed removing the crime of rape from the jurisdiction of Islamic law and establishing that it be judged by modern forensic evidence. The legislation angered political parties representing more devoutly Islamic constituencies. They demanded that the new law be withdrawn, claiming otherwise Pakistan would be transformed into a “free-sex zone.”
During a marathon debate before the passage of the bill, he Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) legislators called the bill “un-Islamic” and reiterated their threat to resign. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, opposition leader and MMA general secretary, warned that the bill would “make Pakistan a free sex zone”. He said there were several women’s rights issues that the bill did not address. He also said the bill was meant to “appease” the United States.
An astute editorial assessment of the reform effort in Pakistan was published in The Washington Times the next day (11/16/2006):
The legislation passed Wednesday by Pakistan’s lower house of parliament modifying the country’s abominable rape laws is progress both for women’s rights and for the rule of secular law, and it should be heeded across the Muslim world…Dropped from the Hudood ordinance is the requirement that rape be tried in Islamic courts, allowing these trials instead to move to criminal courts, based on English common law, where they belong. Also removed is the requirement that a victim’s story be corroborated by four male witnesses – an insurmountable hurdle – in order to prove herself a victim of rape and innocent of adultery – a crime that the legislation would ensure is no longer punishable by death.
By Andrew G. Bostom
American Thinker
Below are the salient, if repugnant details, reported by CNN.
Her fellow villagers in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district had already passed harsh judgment on her. Guilty, they said, of having an affair with a married man. The imam from the local mosque ordered the fatwa, or religious ruling, and the punishment: 101 lashes delivered swiftly, deliberately in public. Hena dropped after 70. Bloodied and bruised, she was taken to hospital, where she died a week later. Amazingly, an initial autopsy report cited no injuries and deemed her death a suicide. Hena’s family insisted her body be exhumed. They wanted the world to know what really happened to their daughter.
Never mind that this 14-year old girl was raped. Under Islamic Law or Sharia rape is well-nigh impossible to prove, and the female victim typically is accused of “fornication,” or “adultery” and lashed, if not stoned. Despite a “ban” by ostensibly overriding secular law, Sharia law and its attendant discriminatory abuses of women compounded by barbaric punishments of these victims, persists in Bengladesh.
Hena was walking from her room to an outdoor toilet when Mahbub Khan gagged her with cloth, forced her behind nearby shrubbery and beat and raped her. Hena struggled to escape, Alya told CNN. Mahbub Khan’s wife heard Hena’s muffled screams and when she found Hena with her husband, she dragged the teenage girl back to her hut, beat her and trampled her on the floor. The next day, the village elders met to discuss the case at Mahbub Khan’s house, Alya said. The imam pronounced his fatwa. Khan and Hena were found guilty of an illicit relationship. Her punishment under sharia or Islamic law was 101 lashes; his 201. Mahbub Khan managed to escape after the first few lashes.
…activist and journalist Shoaib Choudhury, who documents such cases, said sharia is still very much in use in villages and towns aided by the lack of education and strong judicial systems. The Supreme Court also outlawed fatwas a decade ago, but human rights monitors have documented more than 500 cases of women in those 10 years who were punished through a religious ruling. And few who have issued such rulings have been charged.
The United Nations estimates that almost half of Bangladeshi women suffer from domestic violence and many also commonly endure rape, beatings, acid attacks and even death…
Sisters in Islam, a women’s advocacy group in Malaysia has reported, that in neighboring Pakistan,:
[T]hree out of four women in prison under its Hudud laws, are rape victims. Because rape is equated with zina-adultery/fornication-under Hudud law, rape victims are required to produce four pious male witnesses. It is of course nearly impossible for the rape victims to produce the four male witnesses required to prove their allegation. Therefore their police report of rape was taken as a confession of illicit sex on their part and they were duly found guilty.
In the real world, rape is unlikely to occur in the open, such that four pious males can observe the act of penetration. If they actually did witness such an act, and have not sought to prevent it, then technically they are abettors to the crime. In reality, unless the rapist confesses to the crime, women can never prove rape at all if rape is placed under syariah jurisdiction.
Wednesday November 15, 2006 under ; the Musharraf government a measure was passed removing the crime of rape from the jurisdiction of Islamic law and establishing that it be judged by modern forensic evidence. The legislation angered political parties representing more devoutly Islamic constituencies. They demanded that the new law be withdrawn, claiming otherwise Pakistan would be transformed into a “free-sex zone.”
During a marathon debate before the passage of the bill, he Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) legislators called the bill “un-Islamic” and reiterated their threat to resign. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, opposition leader and MMA general secretary, warned that the bill would “make Pakistan a free sex zone”. He said there were several women’s rights issues that the bill did not address. He also said the bill was meant to “appease” the United States.
An astute editorial assessment of the reform effort in Pakistan was published in The Washington Times the next day (11/16/2006):
The legislation passed Wednesday by Pakistan’s lower house of parliament modifying the country’s abominable rape laws is progress both for women’s rights and for the rule of secular law, and it should be heeded across the Muslim world…Dropped from the Hudood ordinance is the requirement that rape be tried in Islamic courts, allowing these trials instead to move to criminal courts, based on English common law, where they belong. Also removed is the requirement that a victim’s story be corroborated by four male witnesses – an insurmountable hurdle – in order to prove herself a victim of rape and innocent of adultery – a crime that the legislation would ensure is no longer punishable by death.
By Andrew G. Bostom
American Thinker
Muslims Protest Against Christian Governor in Egypt
Cairo (DPA) — Thousands of conservative Muslims protested in the southern Egyptian province of Qina Friday against the appointment of a new Christian governor.
Witnesses said the protesters, mostly observers of the conservative Islamic Salafist movement, threatened to bar Emad Mikhail, the new governor, from entering the province.
The previous governor, whom Mikhail will replace, was also Christian.
Qina has seen sectarian strife in the past. Late last year, dozens of Christians and Muslims were arrested in the province after nearly a dozen homes were burnt in clashes between members of the two religions.
Residents said fighting erupted last year when it was discovered that a Coptic Christian man was dating a Muslim woman from the same southern town.
According to the government, Copts are the largest minority in Egypt, comprising about 10 per cent of the 80.5 million citizens, though Christian groups estimate they have a higher percentage of the population.
Witnesses said the protesters, mostly observers of the conservative Islamic Salafist movement, threatened to bar Emad Mikhail, the new governor, from entering the province.
The previous governor, whom Mikhail will replace, was also Christian.
Qina has seen sectarian strife in the past. Late last year, dozens of Christians and Muslims were arrested in the province after nearly a dozen homes were burnt in clashes between members of the two religions.
Residents said fighting erupted last year when it was discovered that a Coptic Christian man was dating a Muslim woman from the same southern town.
According to the government, Copts are the largest minority in Egypt, comprising about 10 per cent of the 80.5 million citizens, though Christian groups estimate they have a higher percentage of the population.
Coptic Christians in Egypt Rally for Secular Constitution, Civil Rights
AINA) — Nearly 100,000 Christian Copts staged a rally today in Egypt. The rally began with a 5 mile march from the Coptic Shubra district to Tahrir Square. Many Muslims joined the march, as well prominent Coptic activists and heads of Coptic human rights organizations.
“We want to show everyone that Copts are present and have fair and lawful demands,” said Father Mettias Nasr, one of the organizers of the rally. “We want a secular, democratic state, a constitution void of any religious clauses, and laws that prohibit discrimination.”
The rally was organized by the Maspero Coptic Movement to commemorate the 40th day of the death of 9 Copts, who were killed by Muslims and the Egyptian army on March 9 in attacks on the Mokatam district, on the outskirts of Cairo. The remembrance cortege was in the form of a mobile pyramid with photos of the dead, accompanied by funeral military music and Coptic church scouts, who wore red, white and black shirts, the colors of the Egyptian flag.
Organizers raised banners demanding a new constitution that emphasizes the civil state, those responsible for torching and demolishing the church in Soul on March 5 (AINA 3-5-2011) and those who killed the Copts in Mokatam (AINA 3-9-2011) to be brought to justice.
Priests led the procession, showing photos of the Mokatam victims and of Coptic girls who disappeared without a trace, demanding the Supreme Council of the armed forces find the girls “because the authorities know who the abductors are” said Father Filopateer, an organizer. Demands were also made for the release of the 18 Coptic youths who participated in the Maspero Coptic Youth sit-in in March and who were arrested on March 17 by the army and sentenced to three-years in prison under false charges.
“We want our churches which were closed by the disbanded state security to be re-opened, people want to pray and the churches are closed,” said Father Mettias.
Father Filopateer said “Anyone who attacks Copts is never penalized, matters are always settled through those ridiculous ‘reconciliation’ meetings, so the Copts are out today to say we have had enough of reconciliation meetings. We demand that anyone who attacks an Egyptian, whether Christian or Muslim, must be prosecuted. We are a country prosecuting its President, so how come those people are not brought to justice.”
The march was originally scheduled to end at Maspero in front of the Egyptian TV building, but because of pro and anti Mubarak demonstration in Maspero, the Copts changed the route to end in Tahrir Square. During the long march, the procession was joined by many people along the way, with Copts holding crosses in their balconies, wishing them victory.
Activist Rami Kamel, member of the Maspero Youth Movement, told elMasry elYoum newspaper the rally aims at claiming Coptic rights, saying the only concession the Copts got after their nine-day sit-in at Maspero was the renovation of the church in Soul, which was handed over to the Coptic church this week. He said the military council did not honor all of its promises, such as bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Soul church attack or those who attacked the Copts in Mokatam, building of the Maghagha Bischopric and re-opening of churches closed for no stated reason by the authorities.
“We will continue to use legitimate means to put pressure on the military council until our demands are met,” Kamel said.
By Mary Abdelmassih
“We want to show everyone that Copts are present and have fair and lawful demands,” said Father Mettias Nasr, one of the organizers of the rally. “We want a secular, democratic state, a constitution void of any religious clauses, and laws that prohibit discrimination.”
The rally was organized by the Maspero Coptic Movement to commemorate the 40th day of the death of 9 Copts, who were killed by Muslims and the Egyptian army on March 9 in attacks on the Mokatam district, on the outskirts of Cairo. The remembrance cortege was in the form of a mobile pyramid with photos of the dead, accompanied by funeral military music and Coptic church scouts, who wore red, white and black shirts, the colors of the Egyptian flag.
Organizers raised banners demanding a new constitution that emphasizes the civil state, those responsible for torching and demolishing the church in Soul on March 5 (AINA 3-5-2011) and those who killed the Copts in Mokatam (AINA 3-9-2011) to be brought to justice.
Priests led the procession, showing photos of the Mokatam victims and of Coptic girls who disappeared without a trace, demanding the Supreme Council of the armed forces find the girls “because the authorities know who the abductors are” said Father Filopateer, an organizer. Demands were also made for the release of the 18 Coptic youths who participated in the Maspero Coptic Youth sit-in in March and who were arrested on March 17 by the army and sentenced to three-years in prison under false charges.
“We want our churches which were closed by the disbanded state security to be re-opened, people want to pray and the churches are closed,” said Father Mettias.
Father Filopateer said “Anyone who attacks Copts is never penalized, matters are always settled through those ridiculous ‘reconciliation’ meetings, so the Copts are out today to say we have had enough of reconciliation meetings. We demand that anyone who attacks an Egyptian, whether Christian or Muslim, must be prosecuted. We are a country prosecuting its President, so how come those people are not brought to justice.”
The march was originally scheduled to end at Maspero in front of the Egyptian TV building, but because of pro and anti Mubarak demonstration in Maspero, the Copts changed the route to end in Tahrir Square. During the long march, the procession was joined by many people along the way, with Copts holding crosses in their balconies, wishing them victory.
Activist Rami Kamel, member of the Maspero Youth Movement, told elMasry elYoum newspaper the rally aims at claiming Coptic rights, saying the only concession the Copts got after their nine-day sit-in at Maspero was the renovation of the church in Soul, which was handed over to the Coptic church this week. He said the military council did not honor all of its promises, such as bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Soul church attack or those who attacked the Copts in Mokatam, building of the Maghagha Bischopric and re-opening of churches closed for no stated reason by the authorities.
“We will continue to use legitimate means to put pressure on the military council until our demands are met,” Kamel said.
By Mary Abdelmassih
Muslim Brotherhood Leaders: We Will Implement Sharia Law in Egypt
Mahmoud Ezzat, the Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy Supreme Guide, said in a forum held in the Cairo district of Imbaba on Thursday that the group wants to establish an Islamic state after it achieves widespread popularity through its Freedom and Justice Party. Meanwhile, Brotherhood leader Saad al-Husseiny, said at the forum that the group aims to apply Islamic legislation and establish Islamic rule. His remarks rattled the leaders of several political parties, who said the statements, which were at odds with the concept of a civil state, would worry liberals.
The Coptic Orthodox Church decided to suspend its dialogue with the group after additional Brotherhood leaders said it was seeking to implement Islamic Sharia and declare Egypt an Islamic state, church sources said. The sources said the Brotherhood is trampling over the principles of equality and citizenship, and that its rhetoric changed after the 25 January revolution to adopt the language of the toppled regime.
Al-Masry Al-Youm has learned that as a result of the controversy, the church abandoned its intention to invite the group’s leaders to attend Easter celebrations.
Anba Bassanti, bishop of Helwan and Maasara, gave church head Pope Shenouda III the prerogative to respond and declined to comment on the Brotherhood leaders’ remarks.
Meanwhile, Abdel Maseeh Baseet, the pastor of the Church of Saint Marie in Mostorod, said he was unsurprised to hear the statements, which he believes represents the Brotherhood’s true intentions. “This way of thinking is rejected both locally and internationally. The world is not ready for a Taliban-style state,” he said.
The Coalition of Revolution Youth described the remarks as a step backward, saying it belies the group’s previous statements that it will establish a civil state, while Khaled al-Sayyed, a member of the coalition, called on the group to apologize to the nation for the statements.
Mostafa al-Tawil, acting president of the Wafd Party, said the statements are intended to prepare the people for religious rule. He added that Egyptians will respond when they vote in the upcoming elections.
The Nasserist and Democratic Front parties expressed similar positions.
The statements also elicited angry responses from within the group itself. Mohamed Habib, former deputy Supreme Guide, said the timing is wrong for a discussion of these matters.
Brotherhood leader Hamdi Hassan defended the statements, saying they are not new, but that the controversy arises from the inaccuracy of press reports and the improper understanding of Islamic law.
Ezzat, meanwhile, filed a report with the attorney general, accusing the media of twisting his statements.
Following the 25 January revolution, the Brotherhood worked to counter fears about its political ambitions after establishing the Freedom and Justice Party. It announced that the party would welcome Christian members, and that it would not oppose female and Coptic nominations for presidency.
www.almasryalyoum.com
The Coptic Orthodox Church decided to suspend its dialogue with the group after additional Brotherhood leaders said it was seeking to implement Islamic Sharia and declare Egypt an Islamic state, church sources said. The sources said the Brotherhood is trampling over the principles of equality and citizenship, and that its rhetoric changed after the 25 January revolution to adopt the language of the toppled regime.
Al-Masry Al-Youm has learned that as a result of the controversy, the church abandoned its intention to invite the group’s leaders to attend Easter celebrations.
Anba Bassanti, bishop of Helwan and Maasara, gave church head Pope Shenouda III the prerogative to respond and declined to comment on the Brotherhood leaders’ remarks.
Meanwhile, Abdel Maseeh Baseet, the pastor of the Church of Saint Marie in Mostorod, said he was unsurprised to hear the statements, which he believes represents the Brotherhood’s true intentions. “This way of thinking is rejected both locally and internationally. The world is not ready for a Taliban-style state,” he said.
The Coalition of Revolution Youth described the remarks as a step backward, saying it belies the group’s previous statements that it will establish a civil state, while Khaled al-Sayyed, a member of the coalition, called on the group to apologize to the nation for the statements.
Mostafa al-Tawil, acting president of the Wafd Party, said the statements are intended to prepare the people for religious rule. He added that Egyptians will respond when they vote in the upcoming elections.
The Nasserist and Democratic Front parties expressed similar positions.
The statements also elicited angry responses from within the group itself. Mohamed Habib, former deputy Supreme Guide, said the timing is wrong for a discussion of these matters.
Brotherhood leader Hamdi Hassan defended the statements, saying they are not new, but that the controversy arises from the inaccuracy of press reports and the improper understanding of Islamic law.
Ezzat, meanwhile, filed a report with the attorney general, accusing the media of twisting his statements.
Following the 25 January revolution, the Brotherhood worked to counter fears about its political ambitions after establishing the Freedom and Justice Party. It announced that the party would welcome Christian members, and that it would not oppose female and Coptic nominations for presidency.
www.almasryalyoum.com
Video Shows Egyptian Army Personnel Attacking Christian Demonstrators
AINA) — Coptic protesters who were in front of the TV building in Maspero, waiting for the curfew to end to go home, came under attack from the Egyptian Army, after Coptic representatives agreed yesterday to suspend their 9-day sit-in until March 25. The army also attempted to assault Father Filopareer Gamil, one of the leaders of the sit- in, but Coptic protesters shielded him with their bodies.
Father Filopateer said that a Coptic demonstration is gathering in front of the hospital where the wounded have been transferred. “An army official came to the hospital to pacify the Coptic youth but they refused to meet with him and are demanding an investigation by the military.”
According to Dr. Gameel Ebeid of the Coptic hospital in Cairo where some of the wounded demonstrators are under medical treatment, 15 Copts have broken limbs, head wounds as well as burns from electrified batons. He said the patients told him that they had agreed with the army to evacuate the area in front of the TV building at 6 AM after the end of the curfew and after cleaning up after yesterday’s demonstration. “Suddenly at 3:45 AM they were attacked heavily by the army unit present at the TV building. The youth started running and those who were caught were stripped of their mobile phones so as not to take photos, and their personal belongings were confiscated. I personally saw 15 patients, 14 of them had their feet broken, wounds in the head and were nearly unconscious from being beaten with electrified batons. One protester underwent an operation to put an implant in his arm.”
Haytham Camil, an eyewitness interviewed by Mariam Ragy, said the army shot some Coptic protesters with live ammunition and there were wounded who were transferred by army ambulances. “We do not know their whereabouts, their names or even how many there are.”
The Coptic advocacy group Katiba Tibya, headed by Father Mattias Nasr, who participated for 9 days in the sit-in, has asked Coptic families who are missing any family members to contact them urgently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jOF6hFcKVE&feature=player_embedded
Lawyer Hany Ramsis, one of the organizers of the sit-in who was present at the time of the attack, told Coptic Free Voice “We were surprised by the army attack. The youth were cleaning the place and some families who came from the provinces were packing. There were around 500 people still there at the time of the attack.” He said the soldiers cut the wire fences and started running towards the people, shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
Ramsis was one of the 10 Copts representing the demonstrators who met on March 13 with the Prime Minister and members of the military council to present their demands. The sit-in afterwards was suspended “to give time to the government to meet all their demands,” said the Coptic statement.
“We met with the authorities and we agreed to suspend the sit-in because of the situation of the country, and many Copts were against this decision. However, we cannot accept that our youth would be beaten and humiliated,” Ramsis said. He demands an official apology for what happened, and the commander who gave the order for the attack to be prosecuted.
“We trust the army, but where are my citizenship rights, and where are my rights as a Copt?” Ramsis said he is in possession of video evidence and plans to pursue legal action against the army.
Coptic activist lawyer Sherif Ramzy, who was also assaulted, said that it is a big shame for the Egyptian army that its soldiers shout “Allahu Akbar” before attacking unarmed citizens. “This only shows that the army is infiltrated by Islamists.”
By Mary Abdelmassih
Father Filopateer said that a Coptic demonstration is gathering in front of the hospital where the wounded have been transferred. “An army official came to the hospital to pacify the Coptic youth but they refused to meet with him and are demanding an investigation by the military.”
According to Dr. Gameel Ebeid of the Coptic hospital in Cairo where some of the wounded demonstrators are under medical treatment, 15 Copts have broken limbs, head wounds as well as burns from electrified batons. He said the patients told him that they had agreed with the army to evacuate the area in front of the TV building at 6 AM after the end of the curfew and after cleaning up after yesterday’s demonstration. “Suddenly at 3:45 AM they were attacked heavily by the army unit present at the TV building. The youth started running and those who were caught were stripped of their mobile phones so as not to take photos, and their personal belongings were confiscated. I personally saw 15 patients, 14 of them had their feet broken, wounds in the head and were nearly unconscious from being beaten with electrified batons. One protester underwent an operation to put an implant in his arm.”
Haytham Camil, an eyewitness interviewed by Mariam Ragy, said the army shot some Coptic protesters with live ammunition and there were wounded who were transferred by army ambulances. “We do not know their whereabouts, their names or even how many there are.”
The Coptic advocacy group Katiba Tibya, headed by Father Mattias Nasr, who participated for 9 days in the sit-in, has asked Coptic families who are missing any family members to contact them urgently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jOF6hFcKVE&feature=player_embedded
Lawyer Hany Ramsis, one of the organizers of the sit-in who was present at the time of the attack, told Coptic Free Voice “We were surprised by the army attack. The youth were cleaning the place and some families who came from the provinces were packing. There were around 500 people still there at the time of the attack.” He said the soldiers cut the wire fences and started running towards the people, shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
Ramsis was one of the 10 Copts representing the demonstrators who met on March 13 with the Prime Minister and members of the military council to present their demands. The sit-in afterwards was suspended “to give time to the government to meet all their demands,” said the Coptic statement.
“We met with the authorities and we agreed to suspend the sit-in because of the situation of the country, and many Copts were against this decision. However, we cannot accept that our youth would be beaten and humiliated,” Ramsis said. He demands an official apology for what happened, and the commander who gave the order for the attack to be prosecuted.
“We trust the army, but where are my citizenship rights, and where are my rights as a Copt?” Ramsis said he is in possession of video evidence and plans to pursue legal action against the army.
Coptic activist lawyer Sherif Ramzy, who was also assaulted, said that it is a big shame for the Egyptian army that its soldiers shout “Allahu Akbar” before attacking unarmed citizens. “This only shows that the army is infiltrated by Islamists.”
By Mary Abdelmassih
Saturday, April 9, 2011
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