Egypt: Good News, Bad News

MECA is the Canadian based Middle East Christian Association. A few days ago the Egyptian head of MECA and another member were released by the Egyptian police after being held for three months:-

A host of journalists, lawyers, clergyman, family and friends gathered at the Cairo home of Adel Fawzy Faltas last night to celebrate the acquittal and release on Monday (November 5) of the Egyptian head of the Middle East Christian Association and an associate.

Faltas, 61, and colleague Peter Ezzat, 25, had been held on unsubstantiated charges of insulting Islam and tarnishing Egypt’s reputation abroad. Faltas had conducted an online interview with a controversial convert from Islam to Christianity only days before his arrest on August 8.

. . .

“I was at home taking a nap at 2 p.m. when I was awoken by the sound of our front door being broken in,” Ezzat said. “When I opened my bedroom door, I had some 10 soldiers and five officers pointing machine guns in my face.”

Ezzat said that the officers forced him onto the floor, blindfolded his eyes and tied his hands. The soldiers cleaned out his entire room, confiscating his computer, camera, mobile telephones, all CDs and tapes.

“Many times I thought that they were never going to let us go,” said Ezzat, who works on the organization’s website. “Each time that we went to court, they simply renewed our detention without any interrogation.”

. . .

Starting work in Egypt only 10 months ago, the Canada-based MECA has unabashedly challenged the government on a number of sensitive topics.

“It’s common for the government to arrest activists from time to time,” MECA spokesman Wagih Yaob said. “It’s a way of keeping the voice of the Copts down.”

In July, MECA lawyers opened a case against the government on behalf of Christians whose village was destroyed in a three-day rampage in January 2000. At least 21 Copts were killed, 18 injured and several hundred homes destroyed when Muslims attacked Christians in the upper Egyptian town of el-Kosheh.

Yesterday, however, two more MECA members were arrested by the police:-

U.S. Copts Association deplores the new arrest of two Coptic activists, Mr. Wagih Yaakoob the official spokesman of the ‘Middle East Christian Association’ and Victor George Abd El Melek, an active member of the Association. The two men were taken into state custody in the late hours of November 10th from their homes. It is believed that the State Security raided their apartments and confiscated computers and other publications about Egyptian Copts. The men were very vocal against the previous arrest of two other MECA members three month ago. They have taken parts in association activities inside Egypt including a protest to free the association jailed members. The men are believed to be at the State Security Intelligence (SSI) headquarters at Lazoghly Square, where they remain incarcerated.

The Egyptian police should release these detainees immediately.