Coptic Organisations UK responds to Crimes against Humanity committed against Copts in Egypt. 

Complaint from Coptic Organisations UK to the United Nation regarding the Forced Internal Displacement of Coptic Families.

from

UK Copts , United Copts GB, and United Action for Egyptian Christians. 

Complaint Concerning the forced Internal displacement to Copts in Egypt.

  

To the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Her Excellency/ The independent expert on minority issues

His Excellency/ the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

His Excellency/ The official observer of the right of housing  

Against 

1-Dr. / Prime Minister Arab Republic of Egypt

2-Mr. / Governor of Alexandria

  

3-Chief of police of Alexandria. 

 

   

The subject

 

    

On Wednesday 25th January 2012 false rumours spread in the village of Sharbat near Alexandria that a Christian tailor, Mr. Murad Sami Gergis has inappropriate photographs of a Muslim woman on his mobile.

On Friday 27th January 2012 the village militant Muslims, great part of them are Salafi Muslims attacked and burned Christian Homes and shops in the village, the police did not try to stop the violence.

The village Muslims burned at least 10 shops belonging to Christians, of them Murad Sami Gergis’s tailor/cloth/fabric shop, his brother Nabil’s shop for sale of spare parts, and his younger brother Walid’s shop for computers and Ishak Ibschron Khalil’s shops and his four married sons shops of varied business, also 3 houses were burned and three further flats were damaged. The nearby police appeared on the scene after the Christian’s properties and business were burned.

The accused Christian tailor was arrested and his telephone was seized, Hamdin Sabahi the MP stressed that no inappropriate photograph of a Muslim woman was found on the Christian tailor’s phone, the Muslim woman whose photograph was the cause of the trouble her name is Soa’d denied being photographed with Murad at any time.

 

The citizen Mohammed Jalal, a moderate Muslim of the group who object to the forced displacement (who are apparently considerable number in the village but outnumbered by the militants) who hosts a number of the expelled Ibschron family, testified that a committee of seven Muslim personalities of the village claimed that they are mandated to end the problem, and decided to displace the Christian families from the village with sale of their properties. When the MP Ahmed Abdel-Hamid El-Sherif allegedly objected on the forced displacement the village militant Muslims fiercely objected and threatened to expel the entire village Christians and burn their properties, on Friday 27th January evening the village Muslims gathered in Al-Rahman Mosque decided to expel Murad Sami Gergis and his brothers Nabil and Walid with their wives and children.

The attack on the Christians of the village was soon followed by 3 reconciliation sessions sponsored by the local police and the local MPs Esam Hasanin from the Muslim Brothers party and Ahmed Abdel-Hamid Elsherif from El-Noor Muslim Salafi party. The meeting was done by consent of the governor of Alexandria Mr. Usama El-Foli to bring a resolution to the matter, it decided:

 

First session on 30 January 2012 chaired by MPs Esam Hasanin from the Muslim Brothers party and Ahmed Abdel-Hamid Elsherif decided on the expulsion of the accused Christian tailor Murad Sami Gergis with his family (in spite of the accused was in police custody subject to investigation, however a collective punishment on the extended family was passed) his brothers and their families and the sale of their properties and business by the Salafi MP.

Second session on 1st February 2012 decided to expel an old Christian businessman Ishak Ibschron Khalil and his 4 sons and daughter (married men with families who build a Christian Association for social activities and weddings/ funerals which seems to be the main cause of the desire to expel him and his family from the village also through his multiple business him and his sons have large amount of sale on credit to the village Muslims who apparently prefer to see them expelled to release themselves from credit obligation) as the Salafis claimed his son Lewis fired in air as he saw the mob coming which was in self defence when the mob started to threw stones and attack them and their properties.

A third session sealed the previous decisions to expel the 8 Christian families (As their return would cause sedition they claimed) it is noted that the forced displacement was agreed by the governor of Alexandria.

A report produced by an Egyptian Human Rights organization was critical of the People Assembly Fact Finding report of 19 February on the forced displacement of 8 innocent families their only problem they are Christians.

The Fact Finding Mission of the People Assembly report has factual errors, attempted to minimize the impact of the crime committed against the Christian citizens and shifted the blame to others rather than to blame the perpetrators of the crimes of arson, the threat to innocent lives and their families and terrorizing and using violence against innocent people and malicious damage to property instead of asking for the full application of the law to make criminals to feel the full weight of law.

So far there is no intended prosecution of the instigators of violence against the Christians and so for the 8 Christian families still displace from their properties and business facing a future of want and destitution. What is happening in Egypt is a Crime against Humanity, namely Forced displacement and Collective punishment as we can see innocent people are being persecuted not for crime they have done but for being Christians.

Therefore:

The actions committed by respondents 1-3 are national and international crimes and violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as a clear violation of the Universal Declaration of the rights of minorities, which requires urgent investigation according to the power and obligations invested upon you and stipulated in the Human Rights Council Resolution No. 6/27 for the year 2007.

We ask you please to remind the Egyptian government of its obligation under international laws and treaties to provide protection and security to all citizens including the Christians and to pressurize the Egyptian government to show seriousness in discharging its duties and start taking the perpetrators of violence of the militant Muslims to court and apply the law fairly and equally to eradicate the culture of impunity prevailing in Egypt to the perpetrators and the inciters of violence against Christians.

Please accept our sincere thanks and appreciation


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