Photo Credit: Matt Ford/Human Rights Watch
On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a joint hearing entitled “Human Rights Abuses in Egypt.” The hearing consisted of two panels; in the first Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, testified. in the second panel the witnesses were His Grace Bishop Angaelos, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom; Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom; Morad Abou-Sabe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Rutgers University; and Tad Stahnke, the Director of Policy and Programs at Human Rights First. The hearing was presided over by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), the chairperson of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.
On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a joint hearing entitled “Human Rights Abuses in Egypt.” The hearing consisted of two panels; in the first Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, testified. in the second panel the witnesses were His Grace Bishop Angaelos, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom; Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom; Morad Abou-Sabe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Rutgers University; and Tad Stahnke, the Director of Policy and Programs at Human Rights First. The hearing was presided over by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), the chairperson of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.
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In his opening statements, Rep. Smith commented that it was fitting to hold the hearing on International Human Rights Day, because “we are witnessing grievous violence and other abuses directed against religious and political minorities, particularly the Copts and other Christians.” He described several instances of anti-Christian violence in Egypt and blamed the current government of failure to act in some cases, and “direct responsibility” in others. He also criticized the U.S. government’s inaction in regards to the cases of American children kidnapped by an Egyptian parent and the Egyptian interim government’s repression of freedom of expression. He pointed out that President Obama’s speech at the UN General Assembly did not mention human rights as a core interest in foreign policy and called for a new approach, commenting “This Administration’s short-sighted approach of not clearly linking aid to the protection of human rights in Egypt has been unequivocally ineffective.”
Next Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, gave her opening statements. She noted the increase in arrests of journalists and opposition leaders under the Morsi government in Egypt and an “overall deteriorating state of human rights throughout Egypt.” She pointed out that problems with the rule of law, human rights violations, and violence continued even after the ouster of Morsi from power and accused the interim government of failing to prevent attacks on Coptic Christians, which have become increasingly common. She noted that other religious minorities, such as Jews, Baha’i, Sufi Muslims, and Shiites have been targeted by extremists and that “women’s rights are woefully inadequate.” She pointed out that though the draft constitution provides more rights, it is open to wide interpretation and that the committee that drafted the constitution did not properly represent minorities. She expressed her hope that Egypt will implement the new draft constitution in a way that addresses these concerns. She added that the Egyptian authorities must pardon the 43 NGO workers imprisoned earlier this year and allow NGOs to operate “without fear of government reprisals.”
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser followed with his testimony. He said that the Morsi era was dominated by “increasing
religious radicalization that negatively impacted women and religious minorities; troubling provisions in the new constitution limiting religious freedom and other rights; and frustrations about the continued climate of impunity since the start of the revolution for numerous acts of violence,” and that the post-Morsi era was off to a similarly bad start. He focused on the importance of guaranteeing religious freedom and stated “Across the world, there is a powerful correlation between religious freedom and related human rights on the one hand and social stability, safety and security, economic development and prosperity, and political democracy on the other.” He pointed out the increase of sectarian rhetoric and decrease of a security presence for religious minorities, coupled with a high rate of prosecutions in blasphemy and religious defamation cases. He explained that the persecution has extended to other religious minorities like the Baha’I, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Jews. Next, he commented on the religious freedoms written into the new constitution, which guarantees freedom of belief, but only extends this protection to Abrahamic religions. He also praised the removal of articles narrowly defining Sharia law, proscribing legal punishments for blasphemy, and a law limiting the renovation and construction of churches. He recommended that the U.S. designate Egypt as a country of particular concern and urge the repeal of contempt-of-religion laws. He also asked for the US to call for the prosecution of people who commit sectarian crimes. He finished by saying that the U.S. should “refuse to certify the disbursement of the appropriated $1.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Egyptian military until the Egyptian government demonstrates that it is using some of the FMF funds to implement policies that protect freedom of religion and related rights in Egypt.”
Bishop Angaelos opened the second panel with his testimony, in which he explained, “the persecution of religious minorities over the past decades has not manifest itself solely in physical attacks, but has frequently been embedded in process and policy, then translated into dealings with citizens on unequal grounds, inevitably having resulted in greater division and marginalization.” He pointed out the rise of political Islamism during the period following the 2011 revolution, in which “The basic civil, political and social rights of citizens, especially those adhering to beliefs or ideologies different from the ruling party, were under great threat during the presidency of Mohammed Morsi.” Following the ouster of Morsi, the bishop said, “They [Christians] alone were set as scapegoats and erroneously blamed and accused of instigating or contributing to the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi demonstrators.” He looked to the possibilities of the new constitution and called for equal treatment of all Egyptians under the law, the removal of religious status on identification cards, and the proper investigation and prosecution of sectarian crimes.
Samuel Tadros followed with his statement, in which he also focused on the challenges faced by the Coptic Christians. He commented that during the end of the Mubarak era, attacks on Copts were largely perpetrated by mobs of common citizens, rather than Islamic groups, and based on rumors of affronts to Islam or the renovation of churches. Following these attacks, Copts and attackers alike were randomly arrested and the Copts were forced into reconciliation sessions where all charges were dropped. He said, following the 2011 revolution, “The hopes unleashed by the Egyptian revolution of a new era of harmony between Egypt’s religious groups and an end to discrimination against Copts came to naught” and local groups of Islamists took advantage of the lack of police pressure to step up attacks on Christians. He added that after Morsi’s election, non-Islamists became increasingly excluded from the government and that “the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties and leaders insisted on using sectarian rhetoric that inflamed local angers against Copts.” Incitement against Copts reached an all-time high after the Coptic Pope’s support of the ouster of President Morsi and following the violent dispersal of a pro-Brotherhood sit-in August, Christians and their homes and churches were attacked in the “single largest attack on churches in Egypt since the 14th century.” He closed his testimony by saying “No matter who rules Egypt, the twin phenomenon of the growing hatred of Christians and the willingness of their neighbors to attacks them, and the failure of Egyptian governments to protect them and stop the attacks have become the hallmarks of the Copt’s continued plight.”
Next Dr. Morad Abou-Sabe spoke, describing his view of U.S.-Egypt and U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood relationship and alleging that the Brotherhood relied on support from the U.S. throughout its continued protests. He highlighted a report that was issued on June 26, 2013 that detailed human rights abuses during Morsi’s year in power, including using defamation of religion charges as a tool to undermine freedom of expression and said that “smear campaigns against human rights organizations have continued, as has the politically motivated, vindictive trials of their staff.” He finished by saying “we therefore call upon the President and the Congress to carefully examine our role in fostering peace and stability in Egypt.”
The final testimony came from Tad Stahnke, who joined the other witnesses in describing the sectarian violence that faces Coptic Christians. He said that Egypt is currently split between two extreme poles and that “Each side points to the excesses of the other as justification for their own authoritarian actions. This has produced a vicious circle of escalating repression and instability that squeezes out alternative political voices and cuts away at the middle ground.” He added that the Copts have been caught as pawns in the battle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, in which they are scapegoated as supporters of Morsi’s overthrow by the Brotherhood and the military is more “interested in pointing to the anti-Christian violence as evidence of the extremism of the Muslim Brotherhood than in taking effective measures to protect Christians and their places of worship, homes and businesses from attack.” He also focused on human rights in general, stating “The overall rights environment has been in steady decline throughout most of the transition.” He called the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins the single most telling act of the current military’s record on human rights, in which the police used a disproportionate amount of force. He also commented on the crackdown that has taken place on Brotherhood leaders, adding that it has spread to “Non-Islamist critics of the military-backed
interim government, like Ahmed Maher.” He recommended “United States should implement a major shift in policy to one that puts Egypt’s commitment to human rights and democratization at its core.” He also called for reconciliation attempts that will allow for Brotherhood leaders to speak out against sectarian attacks and added “If it[Egypt’s military] wishes to benefit from a close, cooperative military relationship with the United States then it must use this power to move Egypt back on to a path of peaceful, inclusive, civilian-led governance.”
The period for questions was cut short, but several representatives asked questions to be answered at a future time. Among those, Rep. Smith asked about the cases of Christian girls being kidnapped and forced to marry Muslim men. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said that the old issues from the Mubarak era were resurfacing and that human rights also applied to the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, stating that though numerous protesters were found with bullet wounds, their official cause of death was labeled as natural causes. Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) asked what the greatest hope of Egypt’s Christians, Jews, and Muslims was, and the best way to reconcile those desires. During the brief comments after, Tadros noted that the authorities identify the most vulnerable villages and provide extra security to the minorities that live there, as well as the creation of a new security protocol for mob violence and the creation of a crisis office in the Presidency. He also suggested a localized rewards system in which U.S. funding can be individually delivered to governorates with better records on human rights issues. Stahnke echoed that sentiment, and said that the U.S. could use a “mixture of carrots and sticks” to encourage Egypt’s improvement on human rights issues.