IMF team leaves Egypt without broad backing from opposition forgovernment’s economic plan
The IMF said in a statement that its delegation met with a range of political figures and Cabinet officials during the nearly two week-long visit that ended late Monday. In previous, shorter trips, the IMF has only focused on meeting with government officials.
The country’s political polarization has further delayed reaching agreement around the deal.
Finance Minister El-Morsi Hegazi, who will meet with officials in Washington D.C. this weekend for annual IMF and World Bank meetings, said the government’s meetings with the international lender were “fruitful.”
Egyptian anti-military protesters evacuate a demonstrator after he was wounded during clashes in the Abbassiya district of Cairo in May 2012. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Senior Egyptian army doctors were ordered to operate without anaesthetic on wounded protesters at a military hospital in Cairo during protests against military rule, according to an investigation commissioned by president Mohamed Morsi. The report into military and police malpractice since 2011 also alleges that doctors, soldiers and medics assaulted protesters inside the hospital.
EGYPT: COPTS ARRESTED FOLLOWING ATTACK ON ST MARK’S CATHEDRAL
Egyptian authorities have arrested four Coptic men who were present in St Mark’s Cathedral when it was attacked last weekend.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) was informed Shadi Sami was arrested at 4 am, while Michael Morcos was arrested at 6 am by Special Forces who stormed the back entrance of his apartment. It appears the men were detained for being in the grounds of St Mark’s Cathedral when it was attacked last Sunday.
Two other Coptic men were also arrested in the early hours of today, according to the Coptic Maspero Youth Union.
The men were amongst hundreds of people who attended Sunday’s funeral at St Mark’s Cathedral for four Coptic men who were killed in sectarian violence last Friday in Khosous, a town 10 miles from Cairo.
As mourners left the funeral, they were pelted with stones, petrol bombs, and Molotov cocktails, forcing them to seek shelter in the grounds of the Cathedral. As stones and other missiles continued to be hurled from the roofs of surrounding buildings and by people who had climbed the walls of the Cathedral, young Coptic men took up sticks and rocks to retaliate.
Two Coptic men were killed during the violence, and 84 were injured, including Michael Morcos, who required sixteen stitches to the head after being hit by a glass bottle. When police eventually arrived at the scene, they fired teargas into the grounds of the Cathedral and didnothing to end the attack, which continued for at least five hours.
Andrew Johnston, Advocacy Director at CSW, said: “These arrests come at a time when the Coptic community in Egypt is still coming to terms with an unprecedented attack on the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the violence in Khosous.
Two Copts were killed during the attack on the Cathedral; four more died in Khosous, yet not one of their attackers has been arrested. Such discrepancies in the discharge of justice contribute to impunity, and can only foster more sectarianism.
They also sends a clear message that Christians are not viewed as equal citizens, despite the government’s verbal protestations to the contrary, and the fact that Egypt is party to international covenants that prohibit discrimination.
Being in the Cathedral identifies these men as victims, not perpetrators. CSW therefore urges their immediate release, and calls on the Egyptian authorities to focus instead on apprehending assailants caught on camera as they attacked the Cathedral with stones and guns.”
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663,
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Four Copts arrested for complicity in Cathedral clashes
Arrests believed to be related to reconciliation meeting between Muslims and Christians
Two men try to put out their burning clothes after they were attacked by unidentified individuals outside the St Mark’s Cathedral on April 7
(AFP Photo)
At least four Coptic activists were arrested on Friday dawn for complicity in St. Mark’s Cathedral clashes which erupted outside the cathedral on Sunday as Coptic families were preparing a funeral procession for those who were killed in Al-Khasous the day before.
The Coptic Maspero Youth Union announced that Michael Morqos was arrested on Friday alongside three other activists. The union condemned his arrest, calling it an escalation against Coptic youth and likening it to Mubarak’s violations against Copts where “the violator is free and the victim gets jailed and humiliated”.
الكنيسة» لـ«مرسى»: البابا لن يقطع الاعتكاف ولا عزاء قبل محاكمة المعتدين
أقباط المهجر ينظمون مسيرة أمام البيت الأبيض.. و«هيومان رايتس» تطالب بالتحقيق فى «فشل الشرطة»
كتب : محررو الوطن
مظاهرات الوحدة الوطنية أمام الكاتدرائية أمس الأول
كشف مصدر كنسى لـ«الوطن» أن قيادات الكنيسة أبلغت مساعدى الرئيس محمد مرسى، خلال الاجتماع المغلق الذى عُقد مساء أمس الأول داخل المقر البابوى، أنهم يحمّلون الرئيس مسئولية ما حدث، واستنكروا تصريحات الدكتور عصام الحداد، مساعد الرئيس، التى حمّل خلالها الأقباط مسئولية الاشتباكات. كما أبلغت الرئاسة غضب البابا، وتأكيده أنه لن يسكت على ظلم الأقباط وضياع حقوقهم، وأنه قرر عدم العودة للقاهرة من دير الأنبا بيشوى بوادى النطرون وتقبل العزاء فى ضحايا الأقباط، إلا بعد التحقيق فى تلك الاعتداءات ومحاكمة المعتدين.
يعلن اتحاد المنظمات القبطية بأوروبا رفضه جلسة الجريمة والعار التي تمت في الخصوص ونتائجها، وأن كل من قَبِلْ الإشتراك بها سواء من الأقباط أو المسلمون هو مجرم شارك مع القتلة في حرق وقتل وسفك دماء الأقباط.
أين الرحمة؟
أين العدل؟
أين المساواة؟ التي يقولها مستشار الرئاسة في جلسة العار.
أين الرحمة في حرق وقتل وذبح الأقباط وممتلكاتهم؟أ
ين العدل في القبض على أقباط أبرياء كرهائن يقايض النظام بهم ليهرب الجناة بجرائمهم؟
أم المساواة بين الجاني والمجني عليه؟
إن مشهد الهجوم على مشيعي شهداء الأقباط في نجع حمادي يعاد بصورة أكثر قذارة وسفالة وانحطاط خلقي أمام الكاتدرائية رمز المسيحية في الشرق الأوسط يشارك فيها المسؤولين.
إننا نقف وراء الكنيسة والأقباط الذين رفضوا عقد جلسات الجريمة والعار تحت كل الضغوط والذي يدفع الثمن هم دائماً الضحايا من الأقباط فهل تلك الجلسات ستعيد الحياة مرة أخرى لشهدائنا؟
هل وصل الانحطاط لحرق الأقباط وهم أحياء بعد طعنهم؟(هلال صابر هلال).
إن هروب المجرمين بسلسلة جرائمهم التي استمرت لأكثر من ثلاثة أيام تحت سمع وبصر مرسي ووزير الداخلية وأركان حكمه من المسؤولين.إن تصادف وجود السيدة كاترين آشتون مندوب المفوضية الأوروبية في مصر في ذات الوقت يجعلها تنقل صورة حقيقية للعالم للجرائم التي تحدث في مصر مدعمة بالوثائق والأدلة التي لا يمكن إنكارها وهو ما سينعكس على التقرير المرفوع منها إلى المفوضية الأوروبية يضعهم أمام مسؤولية جنائية أمام العالم بإعتبارهم مجرمي حرب وهي جرائم لا تسقط بالتقادم.
والإتحاد بصدد دعم التقارير المرفوعة للبرلمان الأوروبي عن كل الجرائم الأخيرة التي اُرتكبت بدءً من كنيسة الخصوص وانتهاءً بالكاتدرائية بالوثائق والأدلة الدامغة.
Coptic Pope, Morsi in War of Words Over Attacks on Christians
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Yesterday saw a sharp exchange of words between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Egyptian Presidency over the attacks on Copts in Al-Khosous city in Qaliubia on April 4 and 5 (AINA 4-6-2013) and the attack on mourners at St Mark Cathedral as they left the funeral service for Al-Khosous victims on Sunday 7th April (AINA 4-7-2013). One Copt was killed by gunfire in the attack and 89 were injured. One Muslim died after falling from a ladder, which he had climbed to destroy the Cathedral's security camera.
The attack on St. Mark Cathedral was not prevented by security forces, who stood by and watched.
Pope Tawadros II, who was not present during the funeral service on Sunday, announced today that he is retiring in the monastery of St.Pishoy in Wadi Natroun and has cancelled all previous apointments until further notice.
Egyptian police hold Dutch reporter overnight after citizen arrest, then release her
CAIRO — A Dutch journalist working in Egypt said she was released Tuesday from nearly 12 hours in police custody after an Egyptian vigilante arrested her and turned her over to authorities, accusing her of spreading European culture and endangering the country.
Rena Netjes, a freelance reporter for a number of Dutch media who covers Egypt and Libya, told The Associated Press that the citizen who arrested her on Monday took her passport and handed her over to police in a Cairo suburb. At the time, she was asking young people in the area if she could interview them.
Prosecutors released her on Tuesday after police held her overnight. A Dutch Embassy spokesman said Egypt’s top prosecutor ordered Netjes’ release and asked her to renew her expired Egyptian press credentials. The spokesman requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Alistair Burt condemns violence outside Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, and calls on all parties in Egypt to respect freedom of religion.
Reacting to violent clashes that broke out at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo following a funeral there, Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said:
I strongly condemn the violent clashes that occurred outside Cairo’s St Mark’s Coptic Cathedral on 7 April, leaving at least one person dead and many others injured. I offer my condolences to the families of the victims, and urge all to show restraint. Freedom of religion and belief is a vital component of a democratic society, and it is important that individuals are able to visit their places of worship safely and peacefully, and that security forces act effectively to protect them. We welcome the news that there will be an investigation into the incident.
EGYPT: SIEGE ON COPTIC CATHEDRAL HIGHLIGHTS ESCALATING SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
At least two people were killed and over 90 injured yesterday during a siege on St Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Abbasiya, Cairo, in the aftermath of a funeral for four Coptic men.Hundreds of mourners had attended the funeral of 25 year-old Morqos Kamel, 35 year-old Victor Saad, 45 year-old Mansour Attia and 25 year-old Essam Tawadros, who died of gunshot wounds during a mob attack on 5 April on the Christian community in Khorous, a suburb 10 miles north of Cairo, following unsubstantiated claims that Christians had daubed offensive imagery on the walls of an Islamic institution.
When the mourners attempted to leave the premises, they were pelted with stones, petrol bombs, and Molotov cocktails, forcing them to seek shelter in the grounds of the Cathedral. As stones and other missiles continued to be hurled from the roofs of surrounding buildings and by people who had climbed the walls of the Cathedral, young Coptic men took up sticks and rocks to retaliate.
