Copts Rally At Egyptian Supreme Court, Demand Release of Detainees
Cairo (AINA) -- Dozens of Copts and a number of Muslims protested on December 4th in front of the Supreme Court in Cairo to call attention to the use of deadly force by State Security against Coptic protesters, which occurred on November 24 in Talbiya, Giza. The clashes between Copts and security forces resulted in 4 Coptic deaths as well as 120 injuries (AINA 12-3-2010 ). Protesters demanded the release of all detainees, including children and minors, and called for the resignation and prosecution of the Governor of Giza and the Chief of State Security in Giza, "who gave orders to open fire on the unarmed Coptic protesters," said Dr. Naguib Ghobrial, head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization, who organized the rally. The protesters held photos of those who died and those who were arrested in the demonstrations. They also held banners and chanted slogans against the Governor, who is viewed by many as being responsible for the incident by assuring the Church congregation, less than 24 hours before sending security forces to storm the church, that he had changed the permit and congratulated them on the new church. One banner said "it is easier to get a permit for a nightclub than a church in Egypt." Ghobrial explained to the media that Copts are unable to build a church without the consent of supreme executive and security authorities, especially the State Security service which is the one entrusted with the approval of the building of any church. Unlike Muslim citizens, who only need a municipal license to build mosques, the Copts require presidential approval for a church, based on the 1856 Ottoman Hamayoni Decree, in addition to ten humiliating conditions laid down by the Ezaby Pasha Decree of 1934, before being considered for a presidential decree. These include the approval of the neighboring Muslim community. Dr. Ghobrial said that it was not possible that a government treats its citizens according to two standards. "Muslims enjoy building their mosques without any fuss while Christians go through a grueling bureaucratic procedures just to build toilets in a church, or get a Presidential decree to build a church." The Demonstrators called on President Mubarak to support the passage of a unified law for building places of worship, which experts believe would eliminate sectarian strife. Seventeen years ago Coptic Pope Shenouda III proposed to the parliament speaker the unified law for building places of worship. However, the bill languishes in Egypt's parliament, which session after session delays putting it on its agenda. The incident of the church in Talbiya gained the sympathy from the Muslim inhabitants of the area, who for the large part refused to join security forces in their attacks against the Copts. "For the first time we were joined by Muslims in the rally," said Ghobrial. "We wanted to relay a massage to the government to change its treatment of the Copts, who ought to be treated equally to Muslims." After the demonstration Ghobrial presented a legal memorandum to the Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and Interior Minister Habib al-Adli, calling for the release of the prisoners and detainees of the Talbiya incident as soon as possible. "We told him that it is impossible that the anniversary of the Christmas Eve Massacre of January 6, 2010 comes and our children are detained in the Egyptian prisons," said Ghobrial. "Or maybe this is another Christmas gift from the government" (AINA 1-7-2010). Dr. Ghobrial said that the Attorney General promised to release the detainees "as soon as possible."
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Catholic Bishops Back House Resolution to Protect Iraq's Christians
U.S. Catholic bishops urged congressmen on Monday to quickly pass a resolution that condemns the recent attack on a downtown Baghdad church and calls for a comprehensive plan to improve security for religious minorities in Iraq. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace sent the letter to sponsors of House Resolution 1725, which was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and co-sponsored by six congressmen. "Our conference welcomes this bipartisan resolution as a way to focus attention on the situation of the vulnerable religious communities in Iraq," the bishops wrote. "In particular, we support the emphasis on developing a comprehensive plan to improve security for religious minorities and to increase their representation in the government of Iraq and to include them in all aspects of Iraqi society." The resolution is a response to the Oct. 31 attack on worshippers at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad that killed 58 people, including three priests, and wounded 75. The attack was the deadliest against the Assyrian Christian community since Islamic extremists began targeting them in 2003. In the following weeks, extremists killed more people in Baghdad's Christian neighborhoods as well as in the northern city of Mosul. Two weeks ago, extremists killed a six-year-old girl and her Christian father in Mosul, which has a large Christian population. Two Christian men were also gunned down in their living room in the city. The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for Sunni Islamic insurgent groups that include al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the Oct. 31 and the Nov. 10 attacks. Police reported that at least 11 roadside bombs exploded within an hour in three Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad on Nov. 10. On Saturday, Iraqi security forces arrested 12 people suspected to be linked to the attack on Our Lady of Salvation Church, including al-Qaida's Baghdad leader, Huthaifa al-Batawi. In addition to calling for a security plan for Iraq's religious minorities, the resolution also calls for measures to accelerate the resettlement applications of Iraqi refugees and to improve conditions so they can safely return to Iraq. "We sincerely hope that H. Res. 1725 will be adopted quickly by the House of Representatives as we believe it will help improve security for all Iraqis, especially Christians and other vulnerable minorities," the bishops said. "We hope it will contribute to the overall goal of achieving a 'responsible transition' that will reduce further loss of life and address the refugee crisis in Iraq." Resolution 1725 was introduced on Nov. 18. Its co-sponsors are: Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), Mark S. Kirk (R-Ill.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). There are only about 600,000 Christians in Iraq now, down from about 1.2 million before the U.S-led invasion in 2003.
U.S. Catholic bishops urged congressmen on Monday to quickly pass a resolution that condemns the recent attack on a downtown Baghdad church and calls for a comprehensive plan to improve security for religious minorities in Iraq. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace sent the letter to sponsors of House Resolution 1725, which was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and co-sponsored by six congressmen. "Our conference welcomes this bipartisan resolution as a way to focus attention on the situation of the vulnerable religious communities in Iraq," the bishops wrote. "In particular, we support the emphasis on developing a comprehensive plan to improve security for religious minorities and to increase their representation in the government of Iraq and to include them in all aspects of Iraqi society." The resolution is a response to the Oct. 31 attack on worshippers at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad that killed 58 people, including three priests, and wounded 75. The attack was the deadliest against the Assyrian Christian community since Islamic extremists began targeting them in 2003. In the following weeks, extremists killed more people in Baghdad's Christian neighborhoods as well as in the northern city of Mosul. Two weeks ago, extremists killed a six-year-old girl and her Christian father in Mosul, which has a large Christian population. Two Christian men were also gunned down in their living room in the city. The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for Sunni Islamic insurgent groups that include al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the Oct. 31 and the Nov. 10 attacks. Police reported that at least 11 roadside bombs exploded within an hour in three Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad on Nov. 10. On Saturday, Iraqi security forces arrested 12 people suspected to be linked to the attack on Our Lady of Salvation Church, including al-Qaida's Baghdad leader, Huthaifa al-Batawi. In addition to calling for a security plan for Iraq's religious minorities, the resolution also calls for measures to accelerate the resettlement applications of Iraqi refugees and to improve conditions so they can safely return to Iraq. "We sincerely hope that H. Res. 1725 will be adopted quickly by the House of Representatives as we believe it will help improve security for all Iraqis, especially Christians and other vulnerable minorities," the bishops said. "We hope it will contribute to the overall goal of achieving a 'responsible transition' that will reduce further loss of life and address the refugee crisis in Iraq." Resolution 1725 was introduced on Nov. 18. Its co-sponsors are: Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), Mark S. Kirk (R-Ill.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). There are only about 600,000 Christians in Iraq now, down from about 1.2 million before the U.S-led invasion in 2003.
Can Kurdish North Serve As an Internal Sanctuary for Iraqi Christians?
The recent announcement that Iraqi leaders have reached a tentative deal to create a unity government in Baghdad is welcome news amidst the looming threat of sectarian violence. While overall levels of sectarian violence in Iraq have declined in the past two years, the Christian minority in the country have suffered tremendously. A painful reminder of this came on Oct. 31 when al Qaeda attacked the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad killing 58 Christian worshipers. Violent attacks such as this over the past seven years have forced a large number of Iraqi Christians to leave the country, and this latest attack has only accelerated this process. As a result a Christian community that once was nearly 800,000 strong before 2003 is now well under half a million. The mass exodus of Iraqi Christians not only imposes a burden on neighboring countries and Europe, which have already received hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, but also drains Iraq of one of its most educated and entrepreneurial minorities. For those Iraqi Christians who fear for their safety in the Arab regions of Iraq, the Kurdistan region could serve as a sanctuary. Thousands of Christian families have already fled to the Kurdish region and the Ninawa province in Northern Iraq, which borders Kurdistan and is relatively safer than central and southern Iraq. The Kurdistan region has thus far been beyond the reach of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups that target the Christian community. To date the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has not received any recognition or assistance from the international community or the central government in Baghdad for hosting this growing number of Christian refugees. In our view the United States, along with other concerned nations, should encourage and assist the KRG in accommodating the Iraqi Christians that feel unsafe in other regions of the country. Those Christians who feel unsafe should be encouraged to relocate to Kurdistan rather than leave Iraq all together. The Christians of Iraq are one of the oldest religious groups in that country whose roots go as far back as the Christianity itself. Ironically thousands of Christians once lived in Kurdistan and northern Iraq until the 1960s and 1970s when they were forced to leave the region as a result of prolonged violence against the Kurds by the central government in Baghdad. In recent years many of the Christian families who have returned to Kurdistan have moved into villages where they or their ancestors once lived. As a result, many of these Christian villages have enjoyed economic revival. Yet at the same time large numbers of Christians residing in larger Kurdish cities such as Erbil or Mosul are facing harsh economic difficulties. So far the KRG and the Kurds have welcomed these new arrivals and are providing them with social services and moderate financial assistance. It is partly because of the historical roots of the refugees in the region that the Kurds have not reacted negatively to the arriving Christians. However if more Christians choose to seek asylum in the Kurdish regions and if the international community decides to encourage the Christians to choose Kurdistan over leaving Iraq, then the number of Christian arrivals will sharply increase. In that case the KRG will face a serious refugee crisis and might be forced to turn away additional arrivals, leaving the Christians with no other option than to leave Iraq. There is no doubt that the arrival of thousands of Christians will be a heavy social and economic burden on the government and people of Kurdistan. Yet this humanitarian gesture might offer them several positive benefits. First, it will generate considerable international goodwill for the Kurdish region, which would be invaluable in future negotiations with the central government over disputed territories. Second, as mentioned earlier, Christians are a highly educated and skilled minority who would contribute further to the economic prosperity of the Kurdish region. Finally, by accommodating the Christians, the Kurdish region can demonstrate that it is a tolerant and multicultural society, and hence further enhance its image as a role model for the rest of Iraq and perhaps even the Middle East. The international community should welcome the proposal for using Kurdistan as a sanctuary for Christians by not only providing financial and logistical support to KRG but by also encouraging Baghdad to provide economic support to the KRG for this purpose. For the Iraqi government authorities, which have so far been unable to contain the violence against Christians, the Kurdistan option would be the second best solution to ending the violence and hence deserves their full economic and political support.
The recent announcement that Iraqi leaders have reached a tentative deal to create a unity government in Baghdad is welcome news amidst the looming threat of sectarian violence. While overall levels of sectarian violence in Iraq have declined in the past two years, the Christian minority in the country have suffered tremendously. A painful reminder of this came on Oct. 31 when al Qaeda attacked the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad killing 58 Christian worshipers. Violent attacks such as this over the past seven years have forced a large number of Iraqi Christians to leave the country, and this latest attack has only accelerated this process. As a result a Christian community that once was nearly 800,000 strong before 2003 is now well under half a million. The mass exodus of Iraqi Christians not only imposes a burden on neighboring countries and Europe, which have already received hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, but also drains Iraq of one of its most educated and entrepreneurial minorities. For those Iraqi Christians who fear for their safety in the Arab regions of Iraq, the Kurdistan region could serve as a sanctuary. Thousands of Christian families have already fled to the Kurdish region and the Ninawa province in Northern Iraq, which borders Kurdistan and is relatively safer than central and southern Iraq. The Kurdistan region has thus far been beyond the reach of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups that target the Christian community. To date the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has not received any recognition or assistance from the international community or the central government in Baghdad for hosting this growing number of Christian refugees. In our view the United States, along with other concerned nations, should encourage and assist the KRG in accommodating the Iraqi Christians that feel unsafe in other regions of the country. Those Christians who feel unsafe should be encouraged to relocate to Kurdistan rather than leave Iraq all together. The Christians of Iraq are one of the oldest religious groups in that country whose roots go as far back as the Christianity itself. Ironically thousands of Christians once lived in Kurdistan and northern Iraq until the 1960s and 1970s when they were forced to leave the region as a result of prolonged violence against the Kurds by the central government in Baghdad. In recent years many of the Christian families who have returned to Kurdistan have moved into villages where they or their ancestors once lived. As a result, many of these Christian villages have enjoyed economic revival. Yet at the same time large numbers of Christians residing in larger Kurdish cities such as Erbil or Mosul are facing harsh economic difficulties. So far the KRG and the Kurds have welcomed these new arrivals and are providing them with social services and moderate financial assistance. It is partly because of the historical roots of the refugees in the region that the Kurds have not reacted negatively to the arriving Christians. However if more Christians choose to seek asylum in the Kurdish regions and if the international community decides to encourage the Christians to choose Kurdistan over leaving Iraq, then the number of Christian arrivals will sharply increase. In that case the KRG will face a serious refugee crisis and might be forced to turn away additional arrivals, leaving the Christians with no other option than to leave Iraq. There is no doubt that the arrival of thousands of Christians will be a heavy social and economic burden on the government and people of Kurdistan. Yet this humanitarian gesture might offer them several positive benefits. First, it will generate considerable international goodwill for the Kurdish region, which would be invaluable in future negotiations with the central government over disputed territories. Second, as mentioned earlier, Christians are a highly educated and skilled minority who would contribute further to the economic prosperity of the Kurdish region. Finally, by accommodating the Christians, the Kurdish region can demonstrate that it is a tolerant and multicultural society, and hence further enhance its image as a role model for the rest of Iraq and perhaps even the Middle East. The international community should welcome the proposal for using Kurdistan as a sanctuary for Christians by not only providing financial and logistical support to KRG but by also encouraging Baghdad to provide economic support to the KRG for this purpose. For the Iraqi government authorities, which have so far been unable to contain the violence against Christians, the Kurdistan option would be the second best solution to ending the violence and hence deserves their full economic and political support.
Assyrian MP Calls on Iraqi Government to Safeguard Churches, Open Investigation
Kirkuk, Iraq (AINA) -- Emad Youkhana, an Assyrian MP for the province of Kirkuk, has called on the Iraqi government to provide security and protection for Christian places of worship in various parts of the country. In an interview with Radio Sawa, he also called on the government to open an investigation into the attacks on Christians since October 31, when 58 Catholic Assyrians were massacred in Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church. Since the October 31 church massacre, 10 Assyrians have been killed in Baghdad and Mosul. Assyrian political and religious leaders have expressed fears that the country is witnessing a new wave of migration Christians because of the attacks by Muslims, which appear to have increased after several European countries announced they would give asylum to the Assyrians of Iraq. Click
Kirkuk, Iraq (AINA) -- Emad Youkhana, an Assyrian MP for the province of Kirkuk, has called on the Iraqi government to provide security and protection for Christian places of worship in various parts of the country. In an interview with Radio Sawa, he also called on the government to open an investigation into the attacks on Christians since October 31, when 58 Catholic Assyrians were massacred in Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church. Since the October 31 church massacre, 10 Assyrians have been killed in Baghdad and Mosul. Assyrian political and religious leaders have expressed fears that the country is witnessing a new wave of migration Christians because of the attacks by Muslims, which appear to have increased after several European countries announced they would give asylum to the Assyrians of Iraq. Click
Assyrian Group Briefs EU Parliament Delegation On Iraq
The Iraq Delegation of the European Parliament had invited ACE to attend and participate in a panel discussion regarding the ethno-religious minorities of Iraq. Opening the panel, Andrew Swan, of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) outlined the progress Iraq has made as a new democratic state, but said complacency was not an option when considering the plight of the ethnic minorities of Iraq. Elaborating these sentiments and focusing on the issue of locally deriving a police force in the Nineveh Plains, Max Joseph of ACE presented a case for a truly representative Nineveh Plains Police Force. Referencing newly collected data which was distributed in a report to attendees, a critical problem regarding the representation of Assyrians in the police force of the Nineveh Plains was clear. The paper demonstrated Arabs and Kurds having a stranglehold on security in areas where they make up little of the population. Next, of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), Piotr Mazurkiewicz, reiterated his support of the Christian Assyrians of Iraq and their right to a local administration. Focusing on the recent Church attack in Baghdad, Mr Mazukiewicz highlighted the need for the persecuted ethno-religious minorities in Iraq to have their rights protected and their wishes fulfilled. A representative of Open Doors, a Dutch humanitarian organization working for Christians in Iraq, broke the running trend by criticizing the notion of an administrative area for the Christian Assyrians of Iraq by commenting that it would become an easy target for extremists. However, this suggestion was roundly refuted by all those in attendance, citing the fact that the Assyrian Christians are already being targeted wherever they are. As seen with these unabated recent attacks against Assyrian Christians all around the country, attendees, including Charles Tannock MEP had voiced his disagreement with Open Doors and supported the creation of a local administration for the Assyrians of Iraq in the Nineveh Plains. This criticism by Open Doors also forgets the natural insecurity of a group with little confidence in an administration. Considering demographics, people naturally come together in linear groups defined by ethnicity and religion. This occurred after the fall of the previous regime with Assyrian IDPs converging in the Nineveh Plains, effectively "returning" home rather than randomly congregating.
The Iraq Delegation of the European Parliament had invited ACE to attend and participate in a panel discussion regarding the ethno-religious minorities of Iraq. Opening the panel, Andrew Swan, of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) outlined the progress Iraq has made as a new democratic state, but said complacency was not an option when considering the plight of the ethnic minorities of Iraq. Elaborating these sentiments and focusing on the issue of locally deriving a police force in the Nineveh Plains, Max Joseph of ACE presented a case for a truly representative Nineveh Plains Police Force. Referencing newly collected data which was distributed in a report to attendees, a critical problem regarding the representation of Assyrians in the police force of the Nineveh Plains was clear. The paper demonstrated Arabs and Kurds having a stranglehold on security in areas where they make up little of the population. Next, of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), Piotr Mazurkiewicz, reiterated his support of the Christian Assyrians of Iraq and their right to a local administration. Focusing on the recent Church attack in Baghdad, Mr Mazukiewicz highlighted the need for the persecuted ethno-religious minorities in Iraq to have their rights protected and their wishes fulfilled. A representative of Open Doors, a Dutch humanitarian organization working for Christians in Iraq, broke the running trend by criticizing the notion of an administrative area for the Christian Assyrians of Iraq by commenting that it would become an easy target for extremists. However, this suggestion was roundly refuted by all those in attendance, citing the fact that the Assyrian Christians are already being targeted wherever they are. As seen with these unabated recent attacks against Assyrian Christians all around the country, attendees, including Charles Tannock MEP had voiced his disagreement with Open Doors and supported the creation of a local administration for the Assyrians of Iraq in the Nineveh Plains. This criticism by Open Doors also forgets the natural insecurity of a group with little confidence in an administration. Considering demographics, people naturally come together in linear groups defined by ethnicity and religion. This occurred after the fall of the previous regime with Assyrian IDPs converging in the Nineveh Plains, effectively "returning" home rather than randomly congregating.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Assyrian Man Killed in Mosul
Mosul (AINA) -- According to the Arabic language website ankawa.com, an Assyrian man was killed in Mosul by Muslim terrorists on Tuesday, November 30. The man was identified as Fadi Walid Gabriel, 25, a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The killing of Mr. Gabriel brings to 8 the number of Assyrians killed since the Baghdad Church massacre on October 31, when Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists stormed Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic church, killing 58 Assyrians.
A genocide of Assyrians has been ongoing in Iraq since June 26, 2004, when the first church was bombed. 66 churches have been bombed since then, and thousands of Assyrians killed. Nearly 50% of Assyrians have fled to Syria and Jordan .
Assyrian Man Killed in Mosul
Mosul (AINA) -- According to the Arabic language website ankawa.com, an Assyrian man was killed in Mosul by Muslim terrorists on Tuesday, November 30. The man was identified as Fadi Walid Gabriel, 25, a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The killing of Mr. Gabriel brings to 8 the number of Assyrians killed since the Baghdad Church massacre on October 31, when Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists stormed Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic church, killing 58 Assyrians.
A genocide of Assyrians has been ongoing in Iraq since June 26, 2004, when the first church was bombed. 66 churches have been bombed since then, and thousands of Assyrians killed. Nearly 50% of Assyrians have fled to Syria and Jordan .
Mosul (AINA) -- According to the Arabic language website ankawa.com, an Assyrian man was killed in Mosul by Muslim terrorists on Tuesday, November 30. The man was identified as Fadi Walid Gabriel, 25, a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The killing of Mr. Gabriel brings to 8 the number of Assyrians killed since the Baghdad Church massacre on October 31, when Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists stormed Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic church, killing 58 Assyrians.
A genocide of Assyrians has been ongoing in Iraq since June 26, 2004, when the first church was bombed. 66 churches have been bombed since then, and thousands of Assyrians killed. Nearly 50% of Assyrians have fled to Syria and Jordan .
Assyrian Man Killed in Mosul
Mosul (AINA) -- According to the Arabic language website ankawa.com, an Assyrian man was killed in Mosul by Muslim terrorists on Tuesday, November 30. The man was identified as Fadi Walid Gabriel, 25, a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The killing of Mr. Gabriel brings to 8 the number of Assyrians killed since the Baghdad Church massacre on October 31, when Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists stormed Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic church, killing 58 Assyrians.
A genocide of Assyrians has been ongoing in Iraq since June 26, 2004, when the first church was bombed. 66 churches have been bombed since then, and thousands of Assyrians killed. Nearly 50% of Assyrians have fled to Syria and Jordan .
Alleged Qur'an Desecration Lands Ethiopian Christian Three Years in Prison
Washington -- International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on November 19, a court in Moyale, Ethiopia sentenced a Christian man to three years in prison after his Muslim friends accused him of writing "Jesus is Lord' on the Qur'an. Woldegeorgis, a member of full gospel church, was arrested in early July after Muslims severely beat him for his alleged crime. During the trial, the public prosecutor failed to produce the copy of the Qur'an on which Woldegeorgis allegedly wrote the statement. The court ruled that since the defendant embroidered and hung similar statements on the walls of his home, they believed he could also write it on the Qur'an. The accusers of Woldegeorgis were his own friends who converted from Christianity to Islam. He refused to convert to Islam despite their continued pressure. It took Ethiopian officials more than three months to charge Woldegeorgis with the alleged crime. The Ethiopian constitution states that suspects should be brought before justice within 48 hours of their arrest. Lieutenant Ibrahim Abdi, one of the leaders of the police station where Woldegeorgis was kept, told ICC that Woldegeorgis was guilty of inciting religious conflict between Muslims and Christians. When ICC told him that it is up to court to decide his guilt, the Lieutenant hung up the phone. ICC also contacted the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC for explanation, but received none. A church leader, who wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons, told ICC, "In my ministry of 20 years, I have not seen such blatant miscarriage of justice. This is a clear case of Islamic discrimination of Christian minorities in the city. We live in an Islamic stronghold. Please pray for us." ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, "The decision by the Ethiopian court to imprison Woldegeorgis for three years without any evidence of wrong doing is both outrageous and illegal. We urge Ethiopian officials to show their commitment to the rule of law by releasing Woldegeorgis and bringing the individuals who assaulted him to justice."
Washington -- International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on November 19, a court in Moyale, Ethiopia sentenced a Christian man to three years in prison after his Muslim friends accused him of writing "Jesus is Lord' on the Qur'an. Woldegeorgis, a member of full gospel church, was arrested in early July after Muslims severely beat him for his alleged crime. During the trial, the public prosecutor failed to produce the copy of the Qur'an on which Woldegeorgis allegedly wrote the statement. The court ruled that since the defendant embroidered and hung similar statements on the walls of his home, they believed he could also write it on the Qur'an. The accusers of Woldegeorgis were his own friends who converted from Christianity to Islam. He refused to convert to Islam despite their continued pressure. It took Ethiopian officials more than three months to charge Woldegeorgis with the alleged crime. The Ethiopian constitution states that suspects should be brought before justice within 48 hours of their arrest. Lieutenant Ibrahim Abdi, one of the leaders of the police station where Woldegeorgis was kept, told ICC that Woldegeorgis was guilty of inciting religious conflict between Muslims and Christians. When ICC told him that it is up to court to decide his guilt, the Lieutenant hung up the phone. ICC also contacted the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC for explanation, but received none. A church leader, who wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons, told ICC, "In my ministry of 20 years, I have not seen such blatant miscarriage of justice. This is a clear case of Islamic discrimination of Christian minorities in the city. We live in an Islamic stronghold. Please pray for us." ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, "The decision by the Ethiopian court to imprison Woldegeorgis for three years without any evidence of wrong doing is both outrageous and illegal. We urge Ethiopian officials to show their commitment to the rule of law by releasing Woldegeorgis and bringing the individuals who assaulted him to justice."
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