Mother of Egyptian-British activist expresses fears over hunger strike
By Syndicated Content
May 13, 2022 | 8:07 AM
CAIRO (Reuters) – The mother of a renowned Egyptian activist who recently gained British citizenship says she fears she may not see him alive again as he approaches the end of the sixth week of a hunger strike over prison conditions.
Laila Soueif said that during a visit to her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah in prison in Cairo on Thursday an officer warned that he could block her from visiting again after she complained about alleged violations against Abd el-Fattah.
وكان رامى كامل انهىء فترة الحبس الاحتياطى القانونية قبل شهر ولكن تم التجديد له 45 يوما اخر خارج إطار القانون، ولكن اليوم تم الاستجابة للمعارضات التى قدمت ضد قرار التجديد وتم الإفراج عنه ليعود الى منزله وسط افراح لاسرته واصدقائه
Egyptian researcher’s mother ‘jumping for joy’ after court orders release
Patrick Zaki was detained last year and still faces charges of ‘spreading false news’
A protester holds up a picture of Patrick Zaki at a demonstration in Naples, Italy. Photograph: Ivan Romano/Getty Images
Agence France-Presse in Cairo
An Egyptian court has ordered the release of researcher Patrick Zaki, whose detention in February last year sparked international condemnation, particularly in Italy where he had been studying, his family said.
“I’m jumping for joy!” his mother, Hala Sobhi, told AFP. “We’re now on our way to the police station in Mansoura,” a city in Egypt’s Nile Delta, where Zaki is from.
The Queen has sent a message of support to Coptic Christians at the annual Coptic New Year service in London.
In a statement read at St Margaret's Church in Westminster, the Queen said it was an "opportunity to remember all those around the world who suffer hardship on account of their faith, especially in recent times. They remain in our thoughts and prayers."
Egypt and Sudan welcome UN’s support for mediation to solve GERD issue
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (L) receives his Sudanese counterpart Abdalla Hamdok in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on March 11, 2021. (AFP)
President El-Sisi highlights depth of strategic relations and ties with people of Nile Valley
Egypt is supporting Sudan in light of the transitional phase it is going through, which requires other countries’ help to enhance its stability
CAIRO: Egypt and Sudan have welcomed the announcement by the UN secretary-general supporting the quartet mediation initiative to solve the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue.
The Prime Minister spoke with the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this evening.
The leaders welcomed the strength of the UK and Egypt’s relationship and the breadth of areas on which there was good cooperation, including trade and investment, education and defence and security.
We are proud of our defence of rights of Egyptians and call on all those keen on human rights in Egypt and the world to show Solidarity
In a new escalation of the unprecedented crackdown against the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, security forces arrested Gasser Abdel Razek, Executive Director of EIPR, from his home in Maadi and took him to an undisclosed location.
Security forces in the afternoon of Wednesday, 18 November, also arrested Karim Ennarah, EIPR’s Criminal Justice Unit Director, in Dahab, South Sinai, where he was on a short vacation. The arrest took place one day after security forces went to his home in Cairo in his absence. After being questioned at a State Security premise outside Cairo, and after 24 hours had passed, Karim appeared this afternoon on Thursday 19 November before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo.
Arrest of Reda Abdel Rahman, Professor at the al-Azhar Institute
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) calls for the release of an Azhar teacher
accused of spreading "Quranism" and the end to the prosecution of people with different religious affiliations
EIPR (17.11.2020) - https://bit.ly/3pUoZG9 - The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) called for the release of Reda Abdel Rahman, a teacher at the al-Azhar Institute in Kafr Saqr, Sharqia Governorate, and the dropping of the charges against him and others for publishing what is known as Quranism. Sources from Abdel Rahman's family said that on August 22, 2020, security forces arrested him and seven other relatives, all of them belonging to the family of Ahmed Sobhi Mansour, a former professor at al-Azhar University and a thinker known for adopting the doctrine of Quranism, and the sources added that the security forces asked them questions related to their relationship with Ahmed Sobhi Mansour and the fact that they adopted the doctrine of the Quranists, and released all of them except for Reda Abdel Rahman, who continued to be held in the National Security headquarters in Kafr Saqr.
Religious freedom violators could be targeted under new UK government powers
Marcus Jones
New powers aimed at people involved in serious human rights abuses are being brought in, the Foreign Secretary said.
The UK is bringing in a new regime to target the "worst human rights violators", the Foreign Office has stated.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "From today, the UK will have new powers to stop those involved in serious human rights abuses and violations from entering the UK, channelling money through our banks and profiting from our economy.
Qatar allegedly continues to put out billions of dollars to support and finance terrorist and extremist operations in Europe. International newspapers have reported that Qatar sends its funds through the Qatar Charity Foundation, where they recently provided about 71 million euros to be delivered to the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe under a charitable cover.
It has been stated by various sources the alleged details of Qatar’s plans concerning the participation of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and the participation of Doha, Qatar in establishing more than 90 centers for the terrorist group in various European countries.
Egypt: 70 churches legalised as church and mosque demolished
Fri 22 May 2020by Heather Preston
The Egyptian Government has legalised 70 churches this week, meaning they cannot be prosecuted for being used for worship.
In Egypt, the construction and renovation of Christian churches is not permitted without first submitting a request to local government for approval.
On Tuesday 19th May, following a meeting of the Government Committee that oversees the legalisation of churches, the decision was issued to legalise 70 church buildings for Christian meetings.
This brings the total number of churches that have been legalised by the committee to 1,638.
Egyptian authorities extend prison sentence of Coptic Christian activist
Thu 07 May 2020by Premier Journalist
A prominent Coptic Christian human rights activists has had his detention extended by a further 45 days by the Egyptian authorities.
Rami Kamil was arrested on 23rd November 2019 after police raided his home in the early hours of the morning. He is known for founding the Maspero Youth Union following the brutal Maspero Massacre in which 27 Christians were killed by the Egyptian military. Following his arrest, it is thought that Kamil was subject to intimdation and relentless questioning. He was subsequently accused of joining a terrorist organisation, receiving foreign funding, disturbing public order, inciting the public against the state, and using social media to incite sectarian tensions between Muslims and Christians.
8 July 2019 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Good morning ladies, gentleman. Welcome to the Foreign Office.
When I was moving house last year, I came across a book called God’s Smuggler which I first read when I was about 10. At the height of the Cold War, Brother Andrew van der Bijl would smuggle Bibles across the Iron Curtain to communist countries where Christianity was ruthlessly suppressed.
ONTARIO INTRODUCES THE FIRST BILL IN CANADIAN HISTORY TO RECOGNIZE EGYPTIAN HERITAGE
Published on May 02, 2019
Sheref Sabawy, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario for Mississauga-Erin Mills has introduced a Bill to the legislature to recognize the month of July as Egyptian Heritage Month.
[Mississauga, Ontario] Sheref Sabawy, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario for Mississauga-Erin Mills has introduced a Bill to the legislature to recognize the month of July as Egyptian Heritage Month. The Bill references the month of July, because it is in line with the Egyptian National Day celebrations.
The Church of England has issued the following response to the Home Office concerning the asylum letter regarding an Iranian Christian convert. In its refusal of asylum, the Home Office had used quotations of violence in the Bible as evidence of bogus claim.
His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, has also commented on the Home Office response, and this is reproduced below.
Response to Home Office letter regarding Iranian asylum seeker
Egypt’s Coptic Christians have been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for choosing peaceful coexistence over retaliation in the face of persecution, reports the US-based news site PR Newswire.
It is believed to be the first time in the 116-year history of the prize that an ethnic religious group has been nominated, said the news site. The US-based non-governmental organisation Coptic Orphans submitted the nomination.