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Jonathan Racho,
Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia,
1-800-422-5441, jonathan@persecution.org
European Union Moves to Defend Persecuted Christians?
Washington, D.C. (February 25, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the European Union has established a working group to protect persecuted Christians and prepare a manual for embassies of member states regarding the treatment of persecuted Christian minorities.
Italy’s Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, in an interview yesterday with Italian’s daily Avvenire said, “We could promote a group of like-minded countries who take to heart the right of Christians to profess their faith anywhere in the world. …You see, Christians have never had a political group offering them strong support through their governments.”
The Foreign Minister also stated that his country will hold an international conference on religious freedom this year and will soon introduce a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly regarding the rights of Christians.
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, with more than 300 million Christians living in countries where they are persecuted simply because of their faith. Muslim countries are the leading persecutors of Christians followed by communist countries. Hindu majority countries such as India also severely persecute Christian minorities.
ICC’s president, Jeff King, said, “We welcome the move by European Union to protect Christian minorities that face persecution. Christians are facing increasing persecution mainly in Muslim countries. We urge the international community to join Italy’s effort in promoting religious freedom and protecting Christians from persecution in Muslim and other Christian persecuting countries.”
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Friday, February 26, 2010
Egypt Condemned For Its Lacks of Freedoms
Morris Sadek
25 February 2010 in Featured Blogumnist, Morris Sadek
Egypt came under review Wednesday, Feb, 17, 2010, for the first time at the United Nations Human Rights Council for its rights record.
Western countries criticized the emergency laws in effect in the North African country since 1981, along with related restrictions on freedom of press, expression and unions and the imprisoning of journalists and bloggers. The accusations included the death penalty, torture and illegal detentions and the use of violence against religious minorities.
Human Rights Watch had called on Egypt to
* repeal the emergency laws
* lift its longstanding abusive emergency regulations
* hold security forces accountable for serious human rights abuses such as arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention
* end systematic torture and unfair trials before state security courts
* halt its systematic arrest and harassment of peaceful political activists, as well as bloggers and journalists
* halt the policy of using lethal force to stop African migrants and asylum seekers from crossing the Sinai border into Israel
The government has never confirmed the number of those arbitrarily detained under emergency law orders issued by the interior minister, but Egyptian human rights organizations estimate that between 5,000 and 10,000 people are held without charge. Security officers arrested a group of bloggers and political activists who had traveled to the southern town of Nag Hammadi to pay their condolences to the families of 6 Christians shot and killed on Coptic Christmas Eve.
Egypt continues the reliance on state security courts, whose proceedings do not meet international fair trial standards manifested in several kinds of tortures, allegations, no access to lawyers and do not allow for appeal, is also of major concern.
The United States and several European countries called on the administration of President Hosni Mubarak to:
* ensure civil liberties in the run-up to parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential poll in 2011
* end the state of emergency that has been in force since his predecessor was assassinated in 1981 and which Egyptian critics argue is used to suppress dissent.
* replace the emergency law by counter-terrorism legislation.
* reform its penal code to include an internationally accepted definition of torture
We add to demands and agree with the recommendations of the Western countries which are to:
* Put an end to the state of emergency.
* Adopt a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolishing it.
* Investigate allegations of torture.
* Take further steps to fight violence against women and prosecute abusers.
* Eradicate female genital mutilations.
* Pass comprehensive anti-trafficking in person legislation.
* Prosecute those involved in incitement to religious hatred and violence.
* Put to trail all those involved the persecution and killings of the Copts and the Bahais.
* Investigate human rights abuses against human rights defenders and lawyers.
* Put to halt the torture of all Coptic captives being jailed after the Nag Hammadi’s incident and set them free.
* A fair trial to the innocent Guirguis Baroumi Guirguis in Qena Criminal Court since his last sitting was not fair.
* Eliminate all legal provisions and policies discriminating on a religious basis.
* Stop the abuse of the Copts rights, respect their rights and stop the systematic discrimination practiced against them.
* Take resolute steps to guarantee an open and free press, including on Internet.
* Amend legislation which inhibits NGOs’ activities and ability to raise finance.
* Establish an independent Electoral Commission.
* Reply favorably to the request of visit of the Special Rapporteur on Torture.
* Ratify the Rome Statute, and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention against Torture.
http://bikyamasr.com/?p=9026
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Brotherhood’s new face
By Emad Nassif
The series of country-wide raids carried out earlier this month, in which some 13 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) were rounded up, aroused controversy aplenty. The group’s deputy chief, Mahmoud Ezzat, was taken from his Cairo home, and senior Brotherhood members Essam al-Erian and Abdel-Rahman al-Berr, both of whom belong to the reformist current in the MB, were detained. Security officials said the detainees had been participating in banned political activity.
The authorities frequently crack down on the officially outlawed but tolerated MB, Egypt’s main opposition group A statement by the group suggested the arrests were linked to the political activity expected ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for next April, November, and 2011 respectively. After fielding candidates as independents in the 2005 legislative polls, the Islamists hold a fifth of the seats in the current Parliament.
¼br>
Gradual reform
The recent arrests were the first since Mohamed Badie, 67, an associate professor of pathology at Beni Sweif University, was chosen as the group’s new General Guide last January, replacing Mohamed Akef, whose tenure was undermined by deep divisions between conservatives and reformists.
In his first announcement, Badie used politically correct rhetoric and said the group believed in gradual reform and peaceful methods of change. “We reject and condemn violence of all sorts, whether it is practised by governments, groups or individuals. The Brotherhood believes that the regime should protect personal freedom and shura [consultation] or democracy. The MB is not an adversary of the regime, despite the measures it [the latter] takes to clamp down on the group and confiscate its money. The basis of citizenship is equality among Egyptians in rights and duties. The MB strongly denounces all forms of sectarian violence…Christians and Muslims constitute a unified cultural and social texture.
“We are not in a state of antagonism with Western peoples, but with those regimes that accept to grant their people democracy and freedom yet deny us these rights,” he went on.
¼br>
Conservatives vs reformists
Observers argue that the election of the Guidance Bureau (the 16-member executive body of the group) was by no means a mere systematic circulation of power. Rather, it marked the culmination of the long-lasting conflict between reformists and conservatives. The reformers, it was said, are led by Mohamed Habib, Akef’s first deputy-who resigned from office on 31 December in protest at the manner in which the election was held-and the conservatives by Mahmoud Ezzat. Until recently-before the conservatives held sway over the group-Habib had been viewed as the heir apparent.
Indeed, the election of the Guidance Bureau held in December deepened the rift between the two sides. Habib and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh-another leading reformist figure-failed to secure seats. Essam El-Erian, a third reformist leader, was elected among the bureau’s members.
Analysts and experts on the Islamic movement provide different explanations of these latest developments. Ammar Ali Hassan, a specialist in Islamic groups, disclaims arguments that the Egyptian security apparatus has a hand in the divide. He says: “I cannot imagine the security apparatus standing behind the dispute between the reformists and conservatives.”
“The security devices cannot interfere in the election of the Guidance Bureau or choose who should or should not become a member. The regime, however, has used the discord for its own interest.
¼br>
Irregularities?
Diaa’ Rashwan, an expert on political Islam and analyst at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, sees the latest development as normal and that within such a large political group the presence of currents and wings is by no means odd. “Both the reformists and conservatives strive to tighten their grip on the group.” Dr Rashwan says. He says he cannot judge whether the State did or did not interfere in the conflict, but he believes that the conservatives’ victory came in the State’s interest because this wing focuses on dawa (preaching) rather than integrating the group into mainstream politics. “The reformists give the State a serious headache because of their readiness to get involved in politics.” he concludes.
Ibrahim al-Hudeibi, son of late General Guide Ma’moun al-Hudeibi and a researcher on Islamic jamaat, believes that the current development reflects a process of settling accounts between the MB and the regime. According to Hudeibi, the MB has three wings: the reformists (adhering to the ideas of the group’s founder Hassan al-Banna); the salafists (followers of Sunni ideas); and Qutbists (devoted to the group’s theoretician Sayed Qotb, the founder of Islamic Jihadism). “The vote was marred by irregularities and the sole hope is sticking to institutionalisation,” he says.
¼br>
Coercive coexistence
On his part, political analyst at the Al-Ahram Centre Amr al-Shobki argues that, were the Brotherhood ever to withdraw from political life, it would not have a harmful impact on the current political mobility, since it was not expected that they would fight for reform. “The change began gradually, since the presence of various generations created differences and disagreements in terms of how to view political issues. The nature of the Egyptian regime led to a kind of coercive coexistence; the latest election reflected an approach of outright marginalisation through which Habib, who performed as the link between the reformists and conservatives, was toppled.
“The MB has to separate religious and political discourse if its future is to be in any better shape,” he added.
¼/p>
uscopts
The series of country-wide raids carried out earlier this month, in which some 13 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) were rounded up, aroused controversy aplenty. The group’s deputy chief, Mahmoud Ezzat, was taken from his Cairo home, and senior Brotherhood members Essam al-Erian and Abdel-Rahman al-Berr, both of whom belong to the reformist current in the MB, were detained. Security officials said the detainees had been participating in banned political activity.
The authorities frequently crack down on the officially outlawed but tolerated MB, Egypt’s main opposition group A statement by the group suggested the arrests were linked to the political activity expected ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for next April, November, and 2011 respectively. After fielding candidates as independents in the 2005 legislative polls, the Islamists hold a fifth of the seats in the current Parliament.
¼br>
Gradual reform
The recent arrests were the first since Mohamed Badie, 67, an associate professor of pathology at Beni Sweif University, was chosen as the group’s new General Guide last January, replacing Mohamed Akef, whose tenure was undermined by deep divisions between conservatives and reformists.
In his first announcement, Badie used politically correct rhetoric and said the group believed in gradual reform and peaceful methods of change. “We reject and condemn violence of all sorts, whether it is practised by governments, groups or individuals. The Brotherhood believes that the regime should protect personal freedom and shura [consultation] or democracy. The MB is not an adversary of the regime, despite the measures it [the latter] takes to clamp down on the group and confiscate its money. The basis of citizenship is equality among Egyptians in rights and duties. The MB strongly denounces all forms of sectarian violence…Christians and Muslims constitute a unified cultural and social texture.
“We are not in a state of antagonism with Western peoples, but with those regimes that accept to grant their people democracy and freedom yet deny us these rights,” he went on.
¼br>
Conservatives vs reformists
Observers argue that the election of the Guidance Bureau (the 16-member executive body of the group) was by no means a mere systematic circulation of power. Rather, it marked the culmination of the long-lasting conflict between reformists and conservatives. The reformers, it was said, are led by Mohamed Habib, Akef’s first deputy-who resigned from office on 31 December in protest at the manner in which the election was held-and the conservatives by Mahmoud Ezzat. Until recently-before the conservatives held sway over the group-Habib had been viewed as the heir apparent.
Indeed, the election of the Guidance Bureau held in December deepened the rift between the two sides. Habib and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh-another leading reformist figure-failed to secure seats. Essam El-Erian, a third reformist leader, was elected among the bureau’s members.
Analysts and experts on the Islamic movement provide different explanations of these latest developments. Ammar Ali Hassan, a specialist in Islamic groups, disclaims arguments that the Egyptian security apparatus has a hand in the divide. He says: “I cannot imagine the security apparatus standing behind the dispute between the reformists and conservatives.”
“The security devices cannot interfere in the election of the Guidance Bureau or choose who should or should not become a member. The regime, however, has used the discord for its own interest.
¼br>
Irregularities?
Diaa’ Rashwan, an expert on political Islam and analyst at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, sees the latest development as normal and that within such a large political group the presence of currents and wings is by no means odd. “Both the reformists and conservatives strive to tighten their grip on the group.” Dr Rashwan says. He says he cannot judge whether the State did or did not interfere in the conflict, but he believes that the conservatives’ victory came in the State’s interest because this wing focuses on dawa (preaching) rather than integrating the group into mainstream politics. “The reformists give the State a serious headache because of their readiness to get involved in politics.” he concludes.
Ibrahim al-Hudeibi, son of late General Guide Ma’moun al-Hudeibi and a researcher on Islamic jamaat, believes that the current development reflects a process of settling accounts between the MB and the regime. According to Hudeibi, the MB has three wings: the reformists (adhering to the ideas of the group’s founder Hassan al-Banna); the salafists (followers of Sunni ideas); and Qutbists (devoted to the group’s theoretician Sayed Qotb, the founder of Islamic Jihadism). “The vote was marred by irregularities and the sole hope is sticking to institutionalisation,” he says.
¼br>
Coercive coexistence
On his part, political analyst at the Al-Ahram Centre Amr al-Shobki argues that, were the Brotherhood ever to withdraw from political life, it would not have a harmful impact on the current political mobility, since it was not expected that they would fight for reform. “The change began gradually, since the presence of various generations created differences and disagreements in terms of how to view political issues. The nature of the Egyptian regime led to a kind of coercive coexistence; the latest election reflected an approach of outright marginalisation through which Habib, who performed as the link between the reformists and conservatives, was toppled.
“The MB has to separate religious and political discourse if its future is to be in any better shape,” he added.
¼/p>
uscopts
Crying against the injustice
By Nader Shukry
Last Sunday saw a demonstration by Copts and rights activists in Tahrir Square in Downtown Cairo. The demonstration, which was organised by the Copts for Egypt movement and the Million Centre for Human Rights, and in which some 300 people took part, was held to protest the escalating violence against Copts on account of their religious identity.
Even though the demonstration was originally planned to march from Tahrir to Parliament, some half-a-kilometre away, the security forces prevented the move. Nonetheless, they protected the demonstrators and no skirmishes occurred.
The demonstrators chanted slogans which condemned the violence against Copts and the government inaction on that head. One banner read: “What grief! What shame! An Egyptian has shot his brother”, and another: “I have a right to celebrate Christmas; instead I had to see my brother killed”.
Hany al-Gezeiri, head of Copts for Egypt, presented a memorandum to Speaker of Parliament Fathy Sorour demanding a unified law for building places of worship, enforcing the law to bring the culprits to justice, and taking to account the officials who were inadequate or deficient in tackling the sectarian issue.
The demonstration witnessed an unprecedented large participation of young Coptic women. Nivene Girgis said that most of the women participants did so spontaneously out of an increasing sentiment of being threatened in their country.
uscopts
Last Sunday saw a demonstration by Copts and rights activists in Tahrir Square in Downtown Cairo. The demonstration, which was organised by the Copts for Egypt movement and the Million Centre for Human Rights, and in which some 300 people took part, was held to protest the escalating violence against Copts on account of their religious identity.
Even though the demonstration was originally planned to march from Tahrir to Parliament, some half-a-kilometre away, the security forces prevented the move. Nonetheless, they protected the demonstrators and no skirmishes occurred.
The demonstrators chanted slogans which condemned the violence against Copts and the government inaction on that head. One banner read: “What grief! What shame! An Egyptian has shot his brother”, and another: “I have a right to celebrate Christmas; instead I had to see my brother killed”.
Hany al-Gezeiri, head of Copts for Egypt, presented a memorandum to Speaker of Parliament Fathy Sorour demanding a unified law for building places of worship, enforcing the law to bring the culprits to justice, and taking to account the officials who were inadequate or deficient in tackling the sectarian issue.
The demonstration witnessed an unprecedented large participation of young Coptic women. Nivene Girgis said that most of the women participants did so spontaneously out of an increasing sentiment of being threatened in their country.
uscopts
Egypt Court Acquits Muslims Accused of Killing Christian
An Egyptian court on Monday acquitted four Muslims accused of killing an elderly Christian, saying that testimony from witnesses had not established they were the murderers, a judicial source said. Current Font Size:
The men were arrested in October after the elderly Copt was killed at his home in the southern village of Dairut. They allegedly planned to attack the Copt’s son, who was dating a Muslim girl and was rumoured to have circulated a CD with explicit pictures of her.
But the judge presiding over the court in the southern city of Assyut said he was not satisfied that witness testimony proved the imprisoned men were the killers.
Muslim villagers clashed with Copts after the men’s imprisonment, stoning churches and Christian homes.
Copts account for between six and 10 percent of Egypt’s 80-million population. They complain of discrimination and have been the targets of sectarian killings and violence.
In the worst sectarian attack in years, Muslim gunmen shot dead six Copts and a Muslim policeman on the night before Coptic Christmas on January 6 in southern Egypt.
A state security court has since put on trial three Muslim suspects in the killings.
www.timeslive.co.za
The men were arrested in October after the elderly Copt was killed at his home in the southern village of Dairut. They allegedly planned to attack the Copt’s son, who was dating a Muslim girl and was rumoured to have circulated a CD with explicit pictures of her.
But the judge presiding over the court in the southern city of Assyut said he was not satisfied that witness testimony proved the imprisoned men were the killers.
Muslim villagers clashed with Copts after the men’s imprisonment, stoning churches and Christian homes.
Copts account for between six and 10 percent of Egypt’s 80-million population. They complain of discrimination and have been the targets of sectarian killings and violence.
In the worst sectarian attack in years, Muslim gunmen shot dead six Copts and a Muslim policeman on the night before Coptic Christmas on January 6 in southern Egypt.
A state security court has since put on trial three Muslim suspects in the killings.
www.timeslive.co.za
Egyptian State Security Accused of Torturing Christian Youth
AINA) — Egyptian State Security has been accused by lawyers, rights activists and victims’ families of torturing the Christian youths arrested in the aftermath of the Christmas Eve shootings of Copts on January 6, 2010. The shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi resulted in the death of six and the injury of nine Christians (AINA 1-7-2010).Two days after the shootings, nearly 100 Coptic teenagers as young as 15 were arrested randomly without warrants from the streets and their homes in Nag Hammadi and the neighboring villages (AINA 1-13-2010).
The arrests were intensified after Anba Kyrollos, Coptic Bishop of Nag Hammadi, heavily criticized the role of the security forces in the massacre, and the demonstrations that took place in Nag Hammadi by the angry Copts against the security forces. Gen. Mahmoud Gohar, Security Director Qena, explicitly threatened Copts and said that he will deal firmly and strongly with any protests.
The arrested youngsters were tortured and released without charges after nearly one week, except for 15 who were charged with “rioting and resisting the authorities” on January 24, and sent to detention camps; 13 went to the New Valley Camp, 700 km south of Cairo and 2 went to Alexandria. It is not known how they are being treated there. “When we visit them, there is always supervision,” said one relative.
Those that were released confirmed that they were beaten and subjected to electrocution. They were asked by security forces to falsely testify against Bishop Kyrollos that he incited them to make demonstrations.
Activist Wagih Yacoub of the Middle East Christian Association carried out interviews on February 19 with two Copts who were tortured. The young men were arrested randomly from the street and kept incarcerated 4-7 days before being released. They have now both left Nag Hammadi for fear of being re-arrested.
Bola (surname withheld), 18, said that he was picked up from the street at 6.30 on January 8, and taken to the police station. Next morning they were blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their back, and transferred to the State Security prison in Nag Hammadi. “We had to take our clothes off, and we were electrocuted with electrodes in our private parts for 8 hours.” He said “Electric shocks only stopped when we could take it no longer — only to be resumed again.”
Reziky (surname withheld), 17, said he was picked up by the police from the street and was taken the next morning blindfolded to State Security prison. He described how they underwent electric shocks by being made to take their clothes off, stand barefooted, and drenched with water. “They electrocuted us through our private parts,” he said. “We were threatened by security that if we disclosed what went on, we will be re-arrested.” A relative of Reziky told an investigator he believes that Reziky and the others Coptic boys were also sexually abused by the police.
Coptic News Bulletin conducted an aired interview with the brother of a 15-year-old teenager who was released. He wanted to remain anonymous for fear of revenge from State Security. “They tortured my brother, and the other Copts. They were flogged and electrocuted through their private parts. The doctor said that none of them will be able to father any children or get married,” he said sobbing “He did not tell us exactly what happened. He is ashamed.” He said that the police wanted them to falsely accuse Bishop Kyrollos of inciting them to go out on demonstrations. The brother said that his brother is under medical treatment but is suffering psychologically and is afraid to venture out of his home.
In a balancing act, security forces also arrested Muslims as well, but they were not tortured, according to the brother. “When the police beat the Christians they tell them “your only problem is that you are Christian,” he said.
He added that he knew from his brother that those who were released had to sign on a blank paper beforehand, and they were threatened that should they divulge what went on inside prison, they will never see their families or daylight again. He also said that when human rights organizations came to see them, the Security forces sent them away and they were prevented from seeing anyone.
Dr. Naguib Gobraeel, President of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights (EUHRO), released a statement on February 17, volunteering to represent the young men who were subjected to torture in connection with the Nag Hammadi Massacre. “The Organization is aware that all those who were detained have been subjected to torture in sensitive parts of the their bodies that would make them completely lose their masculinity.” He explained that such crimes of torture have no statute of limitation. A hot-line number to the EUHRO was advertised.
Volunteer lawyers have complained that the affected families are afraid to sue the security forces for torturing their children. “Who is going to protect us from the vengeance of the security forces if we sue them?” said a relative of the 15-year old teenager Mina to Coptic News Bulletin. “We are poor and helpless people.”
As is the case in all sectarian incidents, State Security hold Christians in captivity to use them as “pawns” or “hostages” for twisting the Church’s arm into accepting their unfair settlement to secure the release of its children. The same tactic was used with the Nag Hammadi incident.
It was reported the families of the arrested youth appealed to Bishop Kyrollos for the release of their children, who were being tortured by the security forces in Nag Hammadi. A source near the Nag Hammadi Diocese, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Security officials in Nag Hammadi made a ‘deal’ with Bishop Kyrollos to release the incarcerated young men in exchange for his downplaying his accusation of the negligence of the State Security in the shooting incident. “Bishop Kyrollos was surprised to find detention warrants issued against 15 young men. He honored the agreement, but State Security did not,” said the source. “The Bishop was told by security officials to pursue normal channels secure their release, so he hired a team of lawyers from Cairo.” He believes that the 15 youngsters were purposely detained to be used again by the security officials to barter for something new from the Church.
Attorney Nabil Ghabrial, one of their legal team said that there is no proof for the charges of ‘riot and resistance to authorities’ brought against his 15 clients, as there were large numbers of bystanders, “so why are those in particular are accused?” An appeal was filed in Court on February 8 by the defense team challenging their arrest and detention.
Following the Nag Hammadi shootings, State security prevented human rights organizations from entering Nag Hammadi. However, Coptic advocacy groups were able to contact the families of the arrested young men and air their recorded interviews.
The majority of families interviewed found it difficult to talk about the torture their children underwent, especially the damage caused by electrocuting their private parts; they felt their children were humiliated as men. Most of the released teens were undergoing medical treatment and many have been fitted with catheters in order to urinate. Families also complained that their children are living in fear, do not sleep at night and do not venture out in the street.
The mother of 20 years old Milad Nageh, who is presently in a detention camp, said that her son was picked up from the street and accused of rioting. “I saw him when he was here in Nag Hammadi, they electrically tortured him.” His mother said that they do not know his whereabouts, some told her he was in the New Valley and some said in Alexandria. “When human rights groups were here, the police officer did now allow them to speak to us; they just took the names and had to leave.”
Mother of 20-year-old Milad Badei said that he was dying in the New Valley camp as a result of the torture and the electric shocks he received in Nag Hammadi prison at the hands of State Security. “They said they would get him doctor to look after him, but I have no money to go and see him in the New Valley,” she told Coptic News Bulletin in an aired interview.
She recounted the family’s ordeal when they were attacked at home in Bahgoura on the evening of January 8. 2010. She said the Muslims broke into their home after cutting off the electricity supply. They were naked so that no one could get hold of them. “They were throwing gas at us to burn us and had knives. My sons Milad and Mina were hurling bricks at them as we had nothing else to defend ourselves with. We could hear the Muslims telling each other to drag the girls out.” She said. Her second son Mina, who is also wanted by security is presently hiding. “Is Milad committing a crime to hurl bricks at perpetrators to protect his family and save his unmarried sister from being raped?” asked the mother, sobbing.
On February 20, 2010, the courts dismissed the appeals filed against the detention. Lawyers and human rights organizations will demonstrate in protest in front of the Supreme Court in Cairo at noon on Wednesday, 24/2/2010 requesting the immediate release of the detainees. They will also present to the Attorney-General a note of protest against the arrests.
By Mary Abdelmassih
The arrests were intensified after Anba Kyrollos, Coptic Bishop of Nag Hammadi, heavily criticized the role of the security forces in the massacre, and the demonstrations that took place in Nag Hammadi by the angry Copts against the security forces. Gen. Mahmoud Gohar, Security Director Qena, explicitly threatened Copts and said that he will deal firmly and strongly with any protests.
The arrested youngsters were tortured and released without charges after nearly one week, except for 15 who were charged with “rioting and resisting the authorities” on January 24, and sent to detention camps; 13 went to the New Valley Camp, 700 km south of Cairo and 2 went to Alexandria. It is not known how they are being treated there. “When we visit them, there is always supervision,” said one relative.
Those that were released confirmed that they were beaten and subjected to electrocution. They were asked by security forces to falsely testify against Bishop Kyrollos that he incited them to make demonstrations.
Activist Wagih Yacoub of the Middle East Christian Association carried out interviews on February 19 with two Copts who were tortured. The young men were arrested randomly from the street and kept incarcerated 4-7 days before being released. They have now both left Nag Hammadi for fear of being re-arrested.
Bola (surname withheld), 18, said that he was picked up from the street at 6.30 on January 8, and taken to the police station. Next morning they were blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their back, and transferred to the State Security prison in Nag Hammadi. “We had to take our clothes off, and we were electrocuted with electrodes in our private parts for 8 hours.” He said “Electric shocks only stopped when we could take it no longer — only to be resumed again.”
Reziky (surname withheld), 17, said he was picked up by the police from the street and was taken the next morning blindfolded to State Security prison. He described how they underwent electric shocks by being made to take their clothes off, stand barefooted, and drenched with water. “They electrocuted us through our private parts,” he said. “We were threatened by security that if we disclosed what went on, we will be re-arrested.” A relative of Reziky told an investigator he believes that Reziky and the others Coptic boys were also sexually abused by the police.
Coptic News Bulletin conducted an aired interview with the brother of a 15-year-old teenager who was released. He wanted to remain anonymous for fear of revenge from State Security. “They tortured my brother, and the other Copts. They were flogged and electrocuted through their private parts. The doctor said that none of them will be able to father any children or get married,” he said sobbing “He did not tell us exactly what happened. He is ashamed.” He said that the police wanted them to falsely accuse Bishop Kyrollos of inciting them to go out on demonstrations. The brother said that his brother is under medical treatment but is suffering psychologically and is afraid to venture out of his home.
In a balancing act, security forces also arrested Muslims as well, but they were not tortured, according to the brother. “When the police beat the Christians they tell them “your only problem is that you are Christian,” he said.
He added that he knew from his brother that those who were released had to sign on a blank paper beforehand, and they were threatened that should they divulge what went on inside prison, they will never see their families or daylight again. He also said that when human rights organizations came to see them, the Security forces sent them away and they were prevented from seeing anyone.
Dr. Naguib Gobraeel, President of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights (EUHRO), released a statement on February 17, volunteering to represent the young men who were subjected to torture in connection with the Nag Hammadi Massacre. “The Organization is aware that all those who were detained have been subjected to torture in sensitive parts of the their bodies that would make them completely lose their masculinity.” He explained that such crimes of torture have no statute of limitation. A hot-line number to the EUHRO was advertised.
Volunteer lawyers have complained that the affected families are afraid to sue the security forces for torturing their children. “Who is going to protect us from the vengeance of the security forces if we sue them?” said a relative of the 15-year old teenager Mina to Coptic News Bulletin. “We are poor and helpless people.”
As is the case in all sectarian incidents, State Security hold Christians in captivity to use them as “pawns” or “hostages” for twisting the Church’s arm into accepting their unfair settlement to secure the release of its children. The same tactic was used with the Nag Hammadi incident.
It was reported the families of the arrested youth appealed to Bishop Kyrollos for the release of their children, who were being tortured by the security forces in Nag Hammadi. A source near the Nag Hammadi Diocese, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Security officials in Nag Hammadi made a ‘deal’ with Bishop Kyrollos to release the incarcerated young men in exchange for his downplaying his accusation of the negligence of the State Security in the shooting incident. “Bishop Kyrollos was surprised to find detention warrants issued against 15 young men. He honored the agreement, but State Security did not,” said the source. “The Bishop was told by security officials to pursue normal channels secure their release, so he hired a team of lawyers from Cairo.” He believes that the 15 youngsters were purposely detained to be used again by the security officials to barter for something new from the Church.
Attorney Nabil Ghabrial, one of their legal team said that there is no proof for the charges of ‘riot and resistance to authorities’ brought against his 15 clients, as there were large numbers of bystanders, “so why are those in particular are accused?” An appeal was filed in Court on February 8 by the defense team challenging their arrest and detention.
Following the Nag Hammadi shootings, State security prevented human rights organizations from entering Nag Hammadi. However, Coptic advocacy groups were able to contact the families of the arrested young men and air their recorded interviews.
The majority of families interviewed found it difficult to talk about the torture their children underwent, especially the damage caused by electrocuting their private parts; they felt their children were humiliated as men. Most of the released teens were undergoing medical treatment and many have been fitted with catheters in order to urinate. Families also complained that their children are living in fear, do not sleep at night and do not venture out in the street.
The mother of 20 years old Milad Nageh, who is presently in a detention camp, said that her son was picked up from the street and accused of rioting. “I saw him when he was here in Nag Hammadi, they electrically tortured him.” His mother said that they do not know his whereabouts, some told her he was in the New Valley and some said in Alexandria. “When human rights groups were here, the police officer did now allow them to speak to us; they just took the names and had to leave.”
Mother of 20-year-old Milad Badei said that he was dying in the New Valley camp as a result of the torture and the electric shocks he received in Nag Hammadi prison at the hands of State Security. “They said they would get him doctor to look after him, but I have no money to go and see him in the New Valley,” she told Coptic News Bulletin in an aired interview.
She recounted the family’s ordeal when they were attacked at home in Bahgoura on the evening of January 8. 2010. She said the Muslims broke into their home after cutting off the electricity supply. They were naked so that no one could get hold of them. “They were throwing gas at us to burn us and had knives. My sons Milad and Mina were hurling bricks at them as we had nothing else to defend ourselves with. We could hear the Muslims telling each other to drag the girls out.” She said. Her second son Mina, who is also wanted by security is presently hiding. “Is Milad committing a crime to hurl bricks at perpetrators to protect his family and save his unmarried sister from being raped?” asked the mother, sobbing.
On February 20, 2010, the courts dismissed the appeals filed against the detention. Lawyers and human rights organizations will demonstrate in protest in front of the Supreme Court in Cairo at noon on Wednesday, 24/2/2010 requesting the immediate release of the detainees. They will also present to the Attorney-General a note of protest against the arrests.
By Mary Abdelmassih
Monday, February 22, 2010
Another Copt Killed as Alleged Shooters Plead Not Guilty in Egypt
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/15219/
Another Copt Killed as Alleged Shooters Plead Not Guilty in Egypt
Coptic carpenter killed outside building that Muslims feared would be used as church.
ISTANBUL, February 16 (CDN) — Three men accused of killing six Coptic worshipers and a security guard pleaded not guilty on Saturday (Feb. 13) as the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another victim of apparent anti-Christian violence.
The three men allegedly sprayed a crowd with gunfire after a Christmas service in Nag Hammadi on Jan. 6. In addition to the seven that were killed, nine others were wounded. The killings were the worst act of anti-Coptic violence since January 2000, when 20 Copts were killed in sectarian fighting in Al-Kosheh.
Defendants Mohammed al-Kammuni, Qorshi Abul Haggag and Hendawi Sayyed appeared Saturday in an emergency security court in Qena, a city 39 miles (63 kilometers) north of Luxor.
In front of the packed courtroom, the three men said little at the hearing other than to enter their plea before Judge Mohammed Adul Magd, according to one attorney present at the hearing. The men are charged with premeditated murder, public endangerment and damaging property.
Numerous Muslim attorneys volunteered to defend them for free as seven attorneys representing the interests of the victims looked on. The next hearing is set for March 20.
Even as the men entered their pleas, the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another Christian, this one shot dead by police. On the evening of Feb. 9, Malak Saad, a 25-year-old Coptic carpenter living in Teta in Menoufia Province, was walking outside a meeting hall that police had seized from Christians when he was shot through his chest at close range. He died instantly.
Scant details are known about the shooting. Police surrounded the entire village and closed it to all reporters. In a statement, officials at the Interior Ministry said the Saad was killed by mistake when a bullet discharged while a police guard was cleaning his weapon. The Interior Ministry said the shooter has been detained and will be tried in a military court. Such courts are traditionally closed to the public.
One of Saad’s cousins, who requested anonymity, disputed the Interior Ministry’s version of the incident. He said that the guard had used the bathroom inside the meeting hall and had come outside of the building when he exchanged a few words with Saad and shot him at close range. The bullet went completely through Saad’s chest.
The building in question had been Coptic-owned for 16 years, but two days prior to the shooting, police seized it after a group of Muslims started a rumor that the owners planned to convert the hall into a church building.
Disputes over worship venues are common in Egypt. Copts and other Christians are extremely restricted in opening or even maintaining houses of worship because of complex government statutes. Anti-Christian elements within Egyptian society often use the statutes to harass Christians, Christian leaders said.
Christians Arrested
Following the Jan. 6 shootings, in a move that Christian leaders said was designed to silence the Coptic community’s protests, police began going door to door and arresting Coptic men in their late teens and 20s. Reports vary widely on the numbers of how many men were arrested, but 15 arrests have been confirmed.
Early in the morning of Jan. 8, officers from State Security Intelligence appeared at the home of Tanios Samuel looking for a different house. When officers realized they were at the wrong home, they arrested his brothers, Fady Milad Samuel, 21, and Wael Milad Samuel, 24.
“We are Copts. It is their country, they will do whatever they want,” Tanios Samuel said about the arrests.
He said the government is using his brothers and the others arrested as pawns to silence dissent. He said he lives in fear for himself and his brothers.
“The families are very scared – scared of violence, getting threats all the time,” Samuel said. “All we want is peace.”
Last month’s attack brought widespread outrage across the Coptic community and from human rights groups around the world.
Since his rise to power in 1981, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has avoided classifying any anti-Coptic attack as part of a larger sectarian struggle within the country. His critics however, have long said his policies or lack thereof contribute greatly to the anti-Christian climate within the country.
Although freedom of religion is guaranteed in Egypt’s constitution, Islam is the official state religion. In public schools, the Quran is used to teach Arabic.
On Jan. 21, Mubarak made an uncharacteristically strong statement about the shootings to MENA, the government-run news agency.
“The criminal act in Nag Hammadi has bled the hearts of Egyptians,” he said. “I hasten to affirm that the reasonable people of this nation, and its religious leaders and thinkers ... bear the greater responsibility to contain discord and ignorance and blind fanaticism and to confront the despicable sectarian strife that threatens the unity of our society.”
Despite Mubaraks’s comments, the government has characterized the attack as either a random criminal act or as one done in reaction to a November incident in which a 21-year-old Christian man allegedly raped a 12-year-old Muslim girl.
In an interview with BBC Arabic, Dr. Fathi Sourour, head of the Egyptian Parliament, said, “The Nag Hammadi shooting of Christians on Christmas Eve was a single criminal act, with no sectarian dimensions.” He added that the crime was “prompted by the ‘death’ of a Muslim girl as a result of being raped by a Copt.”
Later, commenting on a report about the incident, he described the shootings as “a clash between two brothers living in one home.”
Copts, however, have a starkly different impression of the shooting.
Georgette Qillini, a Coptic member of the Egyptian Parliament, described the attack as “a purely sectarian crime and by no means an individual criminal attack,” the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Ibtessam Habib, another Coptic Parliament member, agreed that “sectarian rather than personal motives lie behind the Nag Hammadi attack.”
--
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Another Copt Killed as Alleged Shooters Plead Not Guilty in Egypt
Coptic carpenter killed outside building that Muslims feared would be used as church.
ISTANBUL, February 16 (CDN) — Three men accused of killing six Coptic worshipers and a security guard pleaded not guilty on Saturday (Feb. 13) as the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another victim of apparent anti-Christian violence.
The three men allegedly sprayed a crowd with gunfire after a Christmas service in Nag Hammadi on Jan. 6. In addition to the seven that were killed, nine others were wounded. The killings were the worst act of anti-Coptic violence since January 2000, when 20 Copts were killed in sectarian fighting in Al-Kosheh.
Defendants Mohammed al-Kammuni, Qorshi Abul Haggag and Hendawi Sayyed appeared Saturday in an emergency security court in Qena, a city 39 miles (63 kilometers) north of Luxor.
In front of the packed courtroom, the three men said little at the hearing other than to enter their plea before Judge Mohammed Adul Magd, according to one attorney present at the hearing. The men are charged with premeditated murder, public endangerment and damaging property.
Numerous Muslim attorneys volunteered to defend them for free as seven attorneys representing the interests of the victims looked on. The next hearing is set for March 20.
Even as the men entered their pleas, the Coptic community mourned the loss of yet another Christian, this one shot dead by police. On the evening of Feb. 9, Malak Saad, a 25-year-old Coptic carpenter living in Teta in Menoufia Province, was walking outside a meeting hall that police had seized from Christians when he was shot through his chest at close range. He died instantly.
Scant details are known about the shooting. Police surrounded the entire village and closed it to all reporters. In a statement, officials at the Interior Ministry said the Saad was killed by mistake when a bullet discharged while a police guard was cleaning his weapon. The Interior Ministry said the shooter has been detained and will be tried in a military court. Such courts are traditionally closed to the public.
One of Saad’s cousins, who requested anonymity, disputed the Interior Ministry’s version of the incident. He said that the guard had used the bathroom inside the meeting hall and had come outside of the building when he exchanged a few words with Saad and shot him at close range. The bullet went completely through Saad’s chest.
The building in question had been Coptic-owned for 16 years, but two days prior to the shooting, police seized it after a group of Muslims started a rumor that the owners planned to convert the hall into a church building.
Disputes over worship venues are common in Egypt. Copts and other Christians are extremely restricted in opening or even maintaining houses of worship because of complex government statutes. Anti-Christian elements within Egyptian society often use the statutes to harass Christians, Christian leaders said.
Christians Arrested
Following the Jan. 6 shootings, in a move that Christian leaders said was designed to silence the Coptic community’s protests, police began going door to door and arresting Coptic men in their late teens and 20s. Reports vary widely on the numbers of how many men were arrested, but 15 arrests have been confirmed.
Early in the morning of Jan. 8, officers from State Security Intelligence appeared at the home of Tanios Samuel looking for a different house. When officers realized they were at the wrong home, they arrested his brothers, Fady Milad Samuel, 21, and Wael Milad Samuel, 24.
“We are Copts. It is their country, they will do whatever they want,” Tanios Samuel said about the arrests.
He said the government is using his brothers and the others arrested as pawns to silence dissent. He said he lives in fear for himself and his brothers.
“The families are very scared – scared of violence, getting threats all the time,” Samuel said. “All we want is peace.”
Last month’s attack brought widespread outrage across the Coptic community and from human rights groups around the world.
Since his rise to power in 1981, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has avoided classifying any anti-Coptic attack as part of a larger sectarian struggle within the country. His critics however, have long said his policies or lack thereof contribute greatly to the anti-Christian climate within the country.
Although freedom of religion is guaranteed in Egypt’s constitution, Islam is the official state religion. In public schools, the Quran is used to teach Arabic.
On Jan. 21, Mubarak made an uncharacteristically strong statement about the shootings to MENA, the government-run news agency.
“The criminal act in Nag Hammadi has bled the hearts of Egyptians,” he said. “I hasten to affirm that the reasonable people of this nation, and its religious leaders and thinkers ... bear the greater responsibility to contain discord and ignorance and blind fanaticism and to confront the despicable sectarian strife that threatens the unity of our society.”
Despite Mubaraks’s comments, the government has characterized the attack as either a random criminal act or as one done in reaction to a November incident in which a 21-year-old Christian man allegedly raped a 12-year-old Muslim girl.
In an interview with BBC Arabic, Dr. Fathi Sourour, head of the Egyptian Parliament, said, “The Nag Hammadi shooting of Christians on Christmas Eve was a single criminal act, with no sectarian dimensions.” He added that the crime was “prompted by the ‘death’ of a Muslim girl as a result of being raped by a Copt.”
Later, commenting on a report about the incident, he described the shootings as “a clash between two brothers living in one home.”
Copts, however, have a starkly different impression of the shooting.
Georgette Qillini, a Coptic member of the Egyptian Parliament, described the attack as “a purely sectarian crime and by no means an individual criminal attack,” the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Ibtessam Habib, another Coptic Parliament member, agreed that “sectarian rather than personal motives lie behind the Nag Hammadi attack.”
--
Copts in the World : We believe in strong communites based on sober Christian intentions, united in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ
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