Country Advice

Egypt – EGY38856 – Coptic Christians – Attacks – Church Leaders – Returnees 8 July 2011

1. Is there any country information of attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt since the removal of President Mubarak from power?

Sources indicate an increase in sectarian violence and attacks since President Hosni Mubarak‟s resignation in February, resulting in deaths and injuries. The International Federation for Human Rights, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights report that police and military forces have failed to adequately protect Christians and their property in the post-Mubarak period.1 In May 2011, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom recommended that, for the first time, Egypt be designated a country of particular concern.2

The bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria on the 1st January 2011 was the worst sectarian attack on Christians in Egypt in over a decade, killing 23 people and wounding nearly 100.3 Conditions have not improved since President Mubarak‟s resignation on 11 February 2011, with sources reporting an overall increase in sectarian conflict and attacks.4 Incidences of sectarian violence include:

1 International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 2011, Escalation of inter-confessional violence in Egypt, 9 May – Attachment 1; United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p.49 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights 2011, EIPR Releases Findings of Field Investigation into Imbaba Events, 14 May http://www.eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2011/05/14/1166 – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 3 2 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p.49 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 Attachment 2; The International Religious Freedom Act requires the President, who has delegated this function to the Secretary of State, to designate as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, those countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Pursuant to IRFA, USCIRF recommends the countries that, in its view, meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated. 3 Minority Rights Group International 2011, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Egypt: , April – Attachment 4 ; Johnston, G. P. 2011, „Who will defend Christians in Egypt?‟ The Whig Standard, 27 March http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3043828 – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 5 4 Kirkpatrick, David P. 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear violence as changes embolden Islamists‟, The New York Times, 30 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/middleeast/31coptic.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22&page wanted=print – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 6; United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p49 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2

Page 1 of 9  5 March 2011 – a Coptic church was torched in the village of Sol in Helwan, 30km south of .5 This occurred during sectarian clashes that had reportedly erupted as a result of a romantic relationship between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman.6

 8 March 2011 – 13 people were killed and 150 wounded in clashes between Muslims and Christians during a Christian protest following the attack on the church in Sol.7 The demonstrators called for the church to be rebuilt, perpetrators to be punished, and better treatment by Egyptian authorities. Some Coptic groups claimed that all the victims were Christians, while other reports indicate that as many as five of the deceased were Muslims.8

 20 March 2011 – in the Upper Egypt town of Qena a group of extremists cut off the ear of a Coptic Christian man, claiming they were implementing sharia law as punishment. The Christian man did not pursue criminal charges because extremists allegedly threatened his family.9

 7-8 May 2011 – 15 people were killed, 242 injured and two churches attacked in violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in the suburb of Imbaba, north-west Cairo.10 The violence was reportedly sparked by rumours that Christians were holding a girl against her will and trying to dissuade her from leaving her Christian husband for a Muslim man.11 On 30 May 2011 The New York Times reported that such rumours „ignite most outbreaks of Muslim- Christian violence‟ in Egypt.12

 8-21 May 2011 – Following the Imbaba violence, Copts staged a sit-in outside the state television building, known as Maspero, to protest the failure of Egyptian police and armed forces to protect their churches. On the 14 May, sources indicate that a group of Muslims

5 Shea, N. 2011, „Egypt‟s Copts suffer more attacks‟, The National Review Online, 5 March http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261405/egypt-s-copts-suffer-more-attacks-nina-shea – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 7 6 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p53 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2; „Copts confront new reality‟, 2011, America, 28 March – Attachment 8 7 Guirguis, Helmy 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear post-Mubarak era‟, IWPR Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 16 June http://iwpr.net/print/report-news/egypts-christians-fear-post-mubarak-era – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 9; United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p53 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2 8 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p53 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2 9 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p53 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 2; Guirguis, Helmy 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear post-Mubarak era‟, IWPR Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 16 June http://iwpr.net/print/report-news/egypts-christians-fear-post-mubarak-era – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 9. 10 Kirkpatrick, David D. 2011, „Muslims and Coptic Christians clash again in Egypt‟, The New York Times, 15 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16egypt.html – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 10; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights 2011, EIPR Releases Findings of Field Investigation into Imbaba Events, 14 May http://www.eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2011/05/14/1166 – Accessed 27 June 2011 – Attachment 3; International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 2011, Escalation of inter-confessional violence in Egypt, 9 May – Attachment 1 11 „Two convicted for attacking Coptic sit-in in Egypt, while 16 walk‟ 2011, Ahram Online, 5 June – Attachment 11. 12 Kirkpatrick, David P. 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear violence as changes embolden Islamists‟, The New York Times, 30 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/middleeast/31coptic.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22&page wanted=print – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 6

Page 2 of 9 fired shots at the sit-in, which resulted in a clash between Christians and Muslims, involving rocks, knives and Molotov cocktails.13 At least 55 people were reportedly hospitalised.14

Sources have described the Imbaba attackers as Salafis – fundamentalist Muslims seeking to implement sharia law.15 Sources claim extremist groups have become emboldened with the fall of the Mubarak regime and consequent weakening of internal security.16 Additionally, The Guardian reports that it is „widely believed‟ that elements of the Mubarak regime are encouraging these groups.17 The recent sectarian violence has been condemned by the Muslim Brotherhood.18

2. Deleted.

3. What country information is there (if any) of reported attacks or discrimination of Coptic Christians living in Gharbiya and surrounding areas by Muslims?

No reports were located of attacks or discrimination against Coptic Christians living in Gharbiya since the fall of the Mubarak regime. However, some more dated sources do reference incidences of sectarian violence there. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) noted in their 2009 Annual Report that Muslim-Coptic sectarian tensions and violence had been on the rise, affecting ten governorates, including Gharbiya. The report states that in most cases, these acts of violence involved assaults on the homes and property of Copts or their places of worship.19

In addition, a July 2009 article from the Inter Press Service reports that several people were injured during a „bout of inter-communal fighting‟ in Gharbiya. The violence reportedly erupted as a result of rumours of a relationship between a local Christian woman and a Muslim man. Nabil Abdel-Fattah, assistant head of the semi-official Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told the Inter Press Service that inter-confessional friction had “reached the point that a trivial quarrel could potentially escalate into full-blown sectarian conflict”.20

13 „Two convicted for attacking Coptic sit-in in Egypt, while 16 walk‟ 2011, Ahram Online, 5 June – Attachment 11.; Kirkpatrick, David D. 2011, „Muslims and Coptic Christians clash again in Egypt‟, The New York Times, 15 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16egypt.html – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 10 14 Kirkpatrick, David D. 2011, „Muslims and Coptic Christians clash again in Egypt‟, The New York Times, 15 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16egypt.html – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 10 15 Black, Ian 2011, „Egypt promises justice after Copts and Muslims clash in Cairo‟, The Guardian, 8 May http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/egypt-copts-muslims-clash-cairo – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 12.; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights 2011, EIPR Releases Findings of Field Investigation into Imbaba Events, 14 May http://www.eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2011/05/14/1166 – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 3 16 Fleishman, Jeffrey 2011, „Sectarian clashes kill 12 in Cairo; More than 200 are injured and nearly as many arrested after Muslims attack Copts and burn a church‟, Los Angeles Times, 9 May – Attachment 13 17 Black, Ian 2011, „Egypt promises justice after Copts and Muslims clash in Cairo‟, The Guardian, 8 May http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/egypt-copts-muslims-clash-cairo – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 12. 18 Black, Ian 2011, „Egypt promises justice after Copts and Muslims clash in Cairo‟, The Guardian, 8 May http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/egypt-copts-muslims-clash-cairo – Accessed 28 June 2011 – Attachment 12. 19 Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2009, Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform: Human Rights in the Arab Region http://www.cihrs.org/Images/ArticleFiles/Original/485.pdf - Accessed 8 July 2011 – Attachment 16 20 Morrow, Adam and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani 2009, „Christian-Muslim Tensions Rise‟, Inter Press Service, 30 July – Attachment 17

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Additionally, in 2009 the Christian Assyrian International News Agency reported that a 19 year old Coptic man had died following an assault by a group of Muslim youths in Tanta, the capital of Gharbiya. The article criticises the authorities for not adequately prosecuting the defendants in the case.21

4. Is there country information about heads of Coptic Churches in Egypt (Deacons and Priests) suffering discrimination and attacks from Muslims in Egypt?

Some sources have reported attacks targeting Church leaders specifically; however, the precise nature of such events is often unclear.

Egyptian news Agency Ahram Online reports that a priest was murdered in his house in Assiut on 23 February 2011. Police officials reportedly claimed that valuables were taken from the priest‟s safe, indicating it was a violent robbery. However, the article also reports allegations that the murder was committed by security personnel to counter calls that state security should be withdrawn, whilst others have pointed the finger at supposed „enemies‟ of the priest.22 In addition, Egyptian news agency Almasry Alyoum reports that, according to the slain priest‟s neighbours, four people had killed the Coptic cleric while „chanting Islamic slogans‟.23

This event was also cited in a March 2011 article by Christian advocacy organisation Christian Freedom International (CFI) in which Catholic Bishop Kyrillos William states that the murdered priest, Father Daoud Boutros, was stabbed multiple times and beheaded. The article notes „varied speculation‟ concerning the motive of the attack, but many local villagers „primarily believed‟ the attack was the result of an ongoing conflict between local Coptic Christians and Muslims. Local Muslims had reportedly accused the priest of encouraging one of his parishioners to commit „a sacrilegious act against ‟ more than two years prior. The report also claims that the priest had been receiving threats from Islamists who had accused him of proselytising.24 No other reports were found concerning this incident.

In a separate incident, Christian news agency Compass Direct News reports that on 23 June 2011 a group of Salafis surrounded a church near the town of Minya, 220 kilometres south of Cairo, and demanded the parish priest leave the village or else be murdered. Security forces reportedly kept the mob at bay and removed the priest from the village. The article claims that the incident arose as a result of Church plans to expand a building on their property.25 No further information was found concerning this event or the fate of the priest concerned.

5. Are there reported accounts of Coptic Christians protesting abroad being scrutinised or questioned by Egyptian authorities upon their return?

21 Abdelmassih, Mary 2009, „Egyptian Christian father demands justice for his murdered son‟, Assyrian International News Agency, 3 August http://www.aina.org/news/20090803114206.htm - Accessed 8 July 2011 - Attachment 18 22 „Coptic priest found dead in Southern Egypt‟ 2011, Ahram Online, 23 February - Attachment 19 23 „Coptic Christians angered by priest's murder in Upper Egypt‟ 2011, Almasry Alyoum, 23 February http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/327768 - Accessed 8 July 2011 - Attachment 20; Shehata, Amir 2011, „Coptic priest killed in Assiut‟ Australian Coptic Movement 24 February http://www.auscma.com/2011/02/24/coptic- priest-killed-in-assiut/ - Accessed 8 July 2011 - Attachment 21 24 Christian Freedom International 2011, „Coptic priest found murdered in Egypt‟, 1 March http://www.christianfreedom.org/news/coptic-priest-found-murdered-in-egypt/ - Accessed 8 July 2011 - Attachment 22 25 „Muslim Mobs in Egypt Attack Christian Homes, Threaten Priest‟ 2011, Compass Direct News 27 June http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/article_114242.html - Accessed 8 July 2011 - Attachment 23

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No information was found regarding the treatment of Coptic Christians who have returned to Egypt after protesting abroad. More dated government, NGO and news sources indicate that some asylum seekers may be at risk of scrutiny or torture if returned to Egypt; however, they refer to persons who were already known to the Egyptian authorities, either for crimes, high- profile activism or terrorism.26 RRT Research Response EGY35749 of November 2009 provides more information on the fate of failed asylum seekers in Egypt (question 3).

Of note, the political situation in Egypt remains highly fluid and it is unclear how the transitional authorities are treating Copts returning to Egypt and whether, and to what extent, they are monitoring Christian protests overseas

6. Are there reports of Coptic Church leaders being arrested, detained or attacked for assisting Muslims to convert to Christianity?

Sources indicate that Coptic Church leaders have been harassed and detained by Egyptian police and security forces. In 2010 the United States Department of State (USDOS) noted that the Egyptian police had reportedly detained or harassed individuals accused of proselytising on charges of ridiculing or insulting heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife.27

Egyptian law makes it illegal to insult or „verbally assault‟ Islam. According to Freedom House, Egypt‟s main blasphemy law, Article 98(f) of the Egyptian Penal Code, criminalises „any use of religion to promote or advocate extremist ideologies…with a view to stirring up sedition, disparaging or showing contempt for any divinely revealed religion, or prejudicing national unity and social harmony‟.28According to a 2009 report from CIHRS, the Egyptian Government used the vague and imprecise Penal Code provisions to „detain and prosecute individuals solely on the basis of their peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of religion and belief and to freedom of opinion and expression‟.29

In 2009, a Coptic priest was reportedly sentenced to „five years hard labor for officiating at a wedding between a Copt and a convert from Islam…who allegedly presented false documentation‟.30 In another incident, Mohammed Hegazy, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, was arrested in 2009 and reportedly tortured by Egyptian authorities in an attempt to force him to reveal the identities of his „Christian contacts‟. According to reports, Hegazy and his wife were in hiding after she received death threats for marrying an apostate.31

26 RRT Research & Information 2009, Research Response EGY35749, 23 November - Attachment 24 27 US Department of State 2010, International Religious Freedom Report for 2010 – Egypt, 17 November, Section II – Attachment 25 28 Freedom House 2010, Policing Belief: The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights – Egypt, Freedom House website, 21 October http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=572#Blasphemy_Laws – Accessed 3 June 2011 – Attachment 26 29 Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2009, Written Statement before HRC 10th Session About Situation of Freedom or Religion and Belief, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies website, 2 March http://www.cihrs.org/English/NewsSystem/Printable/Articles/1592.aspx – Accessed 6 June 2011 – Attachment 27 30 US Department of State 2009, International Religious Freedom Report for 2009 – Egypt, 26 October, Introduction – Attachment 28 31 „Egypt‟s Christians face fresh attacks and legal battles‟ 2009, Christian Today, 10 July http://www.christiantoday.com/article/egypts.christians.face.fresh.attacks.and.legal.battles/23782.htm – Accessed 23 February 2010 – Attachment 29

Page 5 of 9 As detailed in question 4, non-state actors have committed acts of violence against Coptic Church leaders, although it cannot be confirmed that these attacks have occurred as a direct result of proselytising. However, expert advice provided to the RRT on 26 February 2010 by Dr Paul Rowe of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights states that:

Islamists frequently engage in vigilante attacks against Christians, in particular those who seek to share their faith with Muslim neighbours…[I]n May 2007, one Christian leader described to me in detail an incident in which one of his co-workers was abducted by a small group of self-appointed activists who were upset with his active attempts to evangelize Muslims.32

32 Rowe, P. 2010, Email to RRT Country Advice: „Re: Treatment of Coptic Christians by Muslim Brotherhood and Islmists‟, 26 February – Attachment 30

Page 6 of 9 Attachments

1. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 2011, Escalation of inter-confessional violence in Egypt, 9 May.– (CISNET Egypt CX266117)

2. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2011, Annual Report 2011, May, p49 http://www.uscirf.gov/images/book%20with%20cover%20for%20web.pdf - Accessed 8 July 2011.

3. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights 2011, EIPR Releases Findings of Field Investigation into Imbaba Events, 14 May http://www.eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2011/05/14/1166 - Accessed 8 July 2011.

4. Minority Rights Group International 2011, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Egypt: Copts, April. (CISNET Egypt: CX266141)

5. Johnston, G. P. 2011, „Who will defend Christians in Egypt?‟ The Whig Standard, 27 March http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3043828 - Accessed 8 July 2011.

6. Kirkpatrick, David P. 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear violence as changes embolden Islamists‟, The New York Times, 30 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/middleeast/31coptic.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadli nes&emc=tha22&pagewanted=print - Accessed 8 July 2011.

7. Shea, N. 2011, „Egypt‟s Copts suffer more attacks‟, The National Review Online, 5 March http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261405/egypt-s-copts-suffer-more-attacks-nina-shea - Accessed 8 July 2011.

8. „Copts confront new reality‟, 2011, America, 28 March. (FACTIVA)

9. Guirguis, Helmy 2011, „Egypt‟s Christians fear post-Mubarak era‟, IWPR Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 16 June http://iwpr.net/print/report-news/egypts-christians-fear-post- mubarak-era - Accessed 8 July 2011.

10. Kirkpatrick, David D. 2011, „Muslims and Coptic Christians clash again in Egypt‟, The New York Times, 15 May http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16egypt.html - Accessed 8 July 2011.

11. „Two convicted for attacking Coptic sit-in in Egypt, while 16 walk‟ 2011, Ahram Online, 5 June. (CISNET Egypt: CX266337)

12. Black, Ian 2011, „Egypt promises justice after Copts and Muslims clash in Cairo‟, The Guardian, 8 May http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/egypt-copts-muslims-clash- cairo - Accessed 8 July 2011.

13. Fleishman, Jeffrey 2011, „Sectarian clashes kill 12 in Cairo; More than 200 are injured and nearly as many arrested after Muslims attack Copts and burn a church‟, Los Angeles Times, 9 May. (FACTIVA)

14. Deleted.

15. Deleted.

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16. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2009, Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform: Human Rights in the Arab Region http://www.cihrs.org/Images/ArticleFiles/Original/485.pdf - Accessed 8 July 2011.

17. Morrow, Adam and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani 2009, „Christian-Muslim Tensions Rise‟, Inter Press Service, 30 July. (CISNET Egypt CX231855)

18. Abdelmassih, Mary 2009, „Egyptian Christian father demands justice for his murdered son‟, Assyrian International News Agency, 3 August http://www.aina.org/news/20090803114206.htm - Accessed 8 July 2011.

19. „Coptic priest found dead in Southern Egypt‟ 2011, Ahram Online, 23 February. (CISNET Egypt CX259299)

20. „Coptic Christians angered by priest's murder in Upper Egypt‟ 2011, Almasry Alyoum, 23 February http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/327768 - Accessed 8 July 2011.

21. Shehata, Amir 2011, „Coptic priest killed in Assiut‟ Australian Coptic Movement, 24 February http://www.auscma.com/2011/02/24/coptic-priest-killed-in-assiut/ - Accessed 8 July 2011.

22. Christian Freedom International 2011, „Coptic priest found murdered in Egypt‟, 1 March http://www.christianfreedom.org/news/coptic-priest-found-murdered-in-egypt/ - Accessed 8 July 2011.

23. „Muslim Mobs in Egypt Attack Christian Homes, Threaten Priest‟ 2011, Compass Direct News 27 June http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/article_114242.html - Accessed 8 July 2011.

24. RRT Research & Information 2009, Research Response EGY35749, 23 November.

25. US Department of State 2010, International Religious Freedom Report for 2010 – Egypt, 17 November, Section II.

26. Freedom House 2010, Policing Belief: The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights – Egypt, Freedom House website, 21 October http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=572#Blasphemy_Laws - Accessed 8 July 2011.

27. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies 2009, Written Statement before HRC 10th Session About Situation of Freedom or Religion and Belief, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies website, 2 March http://www.cihrs.org/English/NewsSystem/Printable/Articles/1592.aspx - Accessed 8 July 2011.

28. US Department of State 2009, International Religious Freedom Report for 2009 – Egypt, 26 October, Introduction.

29. „Egypt‟s Christians face fresh attacks and legal battles‟ 2009, Christian Today, 10 July http://www.christiantoday.com/article/egypts.christians.face.fresh.attacks.and.legal.battles/ 23782.htm- Accessed 8 July 2011.

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30. Rowe, P. 2010, Email to RRT Country Advice: „Re: Treatment of Coptic Christians by Muslim Brotherhood and Islamists‟, 26 February.

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