United Copts of Great Britain
Press Release
For Immediate Release
13th October 2008
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Christians in Egypt are denied Justice by Islamist Judges
In two a surprise verdicts by Egyptian courts, justice for Christians has been dealt two severe blows within a two weeks period.
On Sunday 12th October 2008, the criminal court of Giza, Cairo sentenced Fr. Metta’os Wahba, a Coptic priest to 5 years imprisonment for “forging official document”.
Fr. Metta’os Wahba earlier, conducted the marriage of a Christian man to a woman who converted from Islam. Under Shari’s Law it is prohibited to leave Islam.
The Egyptian government does not provide any legal means to convert from Islam nor legal procedure to adjust official document to bear the convert new Christian identity (in spite of Egypt is a signatory to Human Rights declarations and treaties). A situation widely criticized by Human Rights organisations and Western governments.
On 5th October 2008, the judge Irfan Sediq, Minya Criminal Court, Upper Egypt, sentenced Khamis Eid, a Muslim who confessed to murder 23-years-old Christian, Milad Farag to one year suspended sentence, a verdict noticeable by its extreme leniency.
22-year-old Muslim Khamis Eid stabbed Milad Farag Following a personal dispute as Eid alleged that Farag was spying on him and his wife during an “intimate moment”. Eid had nothing to substantiate his allegation.
Eid reportedly stabbed Farag to death after tricking him into a walk to discuss the issue. They both walked to a field outside their village, Dafash Samalout District, Minya province where Eid stabbed Farag several times in a premeditated murder.
In most previous cases of murdering Copts over the past twenty years including the famous Kosheh massacre 2000, either the police fail to gather enough evidence to the courts to pass fair judgments or the judges fail to convict the murderers for one reason or another. The Egyptian justice seems to always fails the Copts.
The United Copts of Great Britain reminds the Egyptian government and its agencies including the Egyptian judiciary to show justice and respect for Human Rights of the Christian population of Egypt this include the right to convert from Islam and to do it’s best to fight infiltration of the government agencies including judiciary by Radical Islamists and to bear in mind its duty and responsibility to treat all its citizens equally.