In a one-month time span, at least four
violent incidents and two kidnappings occurred against Egypt’s Christian
population. The recent escalation began just days before the start of
the Easter season and have continued through Islam’s holy month of
Ramadan. This represents a significant increase of persecution incidents
toward Christians compared to previous months.
“This has been a
difficult Easter season for Egypt’s Christian population, and we are
saddened by the violence against them,” said ICC President Jeff King.
“Though violence during these major holidays is unfortunately
commonplace, ICC continues to monitor Egypt closely to determine if the
country is moving toward long-lasting violence against the Coptic
minority.”
On April 7, Coptic Orthodox priest Arsanious Wadid
was murdered after being stabbed several times by a 60-year-old
assailant who was later deemed mentally unstable and a previous member
of radical groups in Egypt. As stated by ICC, “It is common for the
attacker to be accused of having a mental illness rather than addressing
underlying extremist motivations. This trend is not only a disservice
to authentic religious freedom, but also increases the marginalization
of those with genuine disabilities.”
Just two days prior, a Coptic woman and her daughter were kidnapped
in Beni Suef Province. The pair were reunited with their family after
11 days. A social media post went viral several days after the
kidnapping on April 13 when the woman, Mariam Waheeb, announced her
conversion to Islam. It was clear to many, including her husband Joseph
Saad, that the video was done under pressure. Another Coptic,
15-year-old Simone Adel, was kidnapped April 11 by a Muslim schoolmate’s
brother. In both instances, the police did little until there were more
public outcries for action.
On April 21, a Muslim man slapped 30-year-old Coptic Christian Nevin Sobhi
twice for not wearing a head covering when she walked into a drugstore.
Sobhi’s young son witnessed the verbal abuse and physical assault
against his mother. Sobhi later faced what she deemed a “third slap” at
the police station when they failed to rightly file a report.
Four
days later, 25-year-old Michael Magdy Said from Assiut Center was shot
in the chest, reportedly by a militant and former criminal in his
village. An eyewitness reported that the assailant falsified an
unreasonable dispute with Said and shot him in the chest. Said remains
in intensive care; the assailant is in custody.
In late April, four unidentified assailants shot Rani Raafat,
a young Coptic man of Dabaa, Matrouh Governorate, 22 times while at
work. Raafat had no known enemies, and his father suspected religious
motivation.
Reports of Christians being refused food at
restaurants before iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the
Islamic holiday of Ramadan, have also surfaced.
In April, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended Egypt’s placement on the U.S. Department of State’s Special Watchlist for religious freedom.
For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.
Friday, May 6, 2022
When will Egyptian cops stop the attacks against the Copts?
The Fulani are out here killing 5-year-olds
Fulani
militants attacked Nigeria’s Chinke community of Kwall District on
Thursday night, May 5, killing at least eight Christians and wounding
several others.
A picture from the scene shows two deceased
victims, each appearing to be under five years of age, lying side by
side. A representative for International Christian Concern (ICC) is
currently at the hospital with a two-year-old gunshot wound survivor
whose mother was killed in the attack.
“The attackers are Fulani militants with AK-47 rifles,” another survivor of the attack told ICC. “They shouted, ‘Allah Akbar’ [Allah is the greatest] and shot randomly.”
Prior to the attack, a community member with intel into the situation issued a security alert, warning: “Plans
are underway to strike Rigwe people any time from now… They have gone
as far as Lokoja axis to go and mobilize for support of attackers… They
concluded the arrangement yesterday in a meeting at the bushes of Zangon
Kataf to attack the earmarked places. They are waiting for the Lokoja
mercenaries to arrive anytime, then they will strike.”
“After attacking Miango and Kwall areas, they plan to proceed to Kagoro areas for the continuation of the mayhem,” the alert continued. “All
this is in their program of sending our people away from our lands so
that they can expand their grazing areas, then occupy the lands. They
are doing this in the camouflage of [avenging] their people… Pray so
that the God of Elijah, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah comes to fight for us.
As God dealt with the proud kings of the times of these prophets and
kings, pray without ceasing so that God will frustrate and defeat the
enemies in all their plans of expansionism. We are in the hands of God
and will not depend on any arms.”
In response to this
warning, an ICC representative went to the community before the attack
began and rescued 15 children, whom he hid in his home beyond the scope
of the assailants.
“Despite an early warning, we told government officials, but they kept silent and allowed Fulani militants to kill us,” a leader in the community told ICC. “The government is silent over the killings in my region because we are Christians, not Fulani Muslims.”
Last year, Nigeria earned the title of the worst country for Christian persecution in ICC’s 2021 Persecutor of the Year Awards.
Radicalized and armed Islamist Fulani militants have killed tens of
thousands of Christians and left more than 3 million displaced in a
20-year genocide.
“Christian communities in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria have effectively suffered a 20-year genocide,” said ICC President Jeff King. “Where
is any action? The Nigerian government gives these attacks lip service
without any meaningful response. Where is the outcry? Where is effective
action? In Nigeria, the military, the police, and the intelligence
agencies are all controlled by Muslims. This, coupled with a 20-year
lack of response by these agencies, should naturally lead to deeper
questioning by the international community. Simply put, the time for
cheap talk and platitudes is over. The world is waking up and starting
to ask, ‘Is the Nigerian government complicit in these attacks?’ Time
will tell, but for this long-time watcher, the decision is in.”
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
China uses COVID lockdown as cover to kidnap priests in Baoding
Local
authorities have detained at least 10 priests from the underground
Catholic community of Baoding in Hebei province since January 2022.
“While
Beijing attempts to make believe that the Chinese Catholic Church is
thriving, especially after the inkling of the 2018 Sino-Vatican
agreement, the truth is, underground Catholics in China continue to
suffer. Their leaders are subject to patriotic education and coerced
into joining the official church. Those who fail to comply will become
victims of enforced disappearance like the case of the ten priests in
Baoding. The Vatican needs to intervene and stand up for justice,” said Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia.
Other priests and Catholics in Baoding are searching for the missing priests and asking for prayers, according to Asia News. Many family members of the missing priests have turned to their village policemen for information in vain.
The priests left behind are afraid that they might soon be taken away.
Baoding diocese’s bishop, James Su Zhimin,
was arrested in 1997 for refusing the state-sanctioned organization and
was not seen again until 2003 in a hospital. After leaving the
hospital, he has not been seen again, and some speculate that he has now
passed away.
The list of disappeared priests is as follows:
- Fr. Chen Hechao, taken away last January.
- Fr. Ji Fuhou, Fr. Ma Ligang, Fr. Yang Guanglin, and Fr. Shang Mancang were taken away in March and April.
- Fr. Yang Jianwei and Fr. Zhang Chunguang, both disappeared on April 29 around 4 p.m. in Xushui village in Baoding.
- Fr. Zhang Zhenquan and Fr. Yin Shuangxi also disappeared on April 29 from Xushui village in the afternoon.
- Fr. Zhang Shouxin, also disappeared on April 30 in Baoding.
As
the oldest and largest underground Catholic community, Baoding is no
stranger to persecution. Father Yang Jianwei was taken away from a
driving test site in 2016. In November 2020, two priests and more than a
dozen seminarians and nuns from the same community were forcibly taken
away by government officials.
While most of them have been
released, some continue to be targets of the government because they
refuse to join the official church controlled by the Chinese Communist
Party. They often need to go through weeks, if not months, of political
indoctrination sessions during their detention. They are also prohibited
from contacting their loved ones.
Monday, May 2, 2022
Coptic riddled with more bullets than 50 Cent - shot 22 times
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that four unidentified masked men
shot down a young Coptic man in the Egyptian city of Dabaa, Matrouh
Governorate. The victim, Rani Raafat, was killed instantly from multiple
gunshot wounds while at work this week. The assailants then burned
Raafat’s car and fled.
Egyptian media also reported that a
second person, Sherif Rashad, sustained a gunshot wound and was
transferred to a hospital in Alexandria for treatment. Raafat Nour, the
father of the victim, said, “I was at home in Dabaa, and a phone
call came to my son to open the shop to receive goods for agricultural
supplies in a project he works in the afternoon. I later received a
phone call of the death of my son. When I went to the store, I found him
dead and lying on the ground, overwhelmed in own his blood.”
Raafat
worked in the veterinary medicine trade and had no known enemies. His
relatives suggested sectarian-religious motives in the incident and that
the perpetrators of the attack were extremist elements, according to Al
Arabiya.
The father of the deceased added, “My son had a
problem in December 2021, and was beaten with a shotgun. The accused [in
that matter] was arrested and imprisoned. We sat with his family, and
they promised us that the matter would be over, and my son was
transferred from El Dabaa High School to a school in Burj Al Arab. He
has now been attacked by unknown masked persons who escaped.” He added,
"I only want to apprehend the perpetrators and hold them accountable,
and to take the right of my son through the judiciary."
Earlier this month, the Coptic Christian community lost Father Arsanious Wadid
after Nehru Abdel Moneim Tawfiq, previously an unidentified assailant,
stabbed him several times. Tawfiq was previously a known member of
extremist groups.
Earlier this week, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that Egypt be placed on the State Department’s Special Watchlist for religious freedom
ICC’s president, Jeff King, stated,
“We are saddened to hear the news of yet another violent incident
targeting an Egyptian Christian, and are concerned that we have seen a
second major incident in just a few weeks. We are watching Egypt closely
to see if these are warning signs of a more challenging future for
Egyptian Christians. Our prayers are with the victim’s family and we
urge the authorities to conduct a transparent investigation which
affirms due process of law.”
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Activist in Turkey sentenced to life in prison
A Turkish court has sentenced Osman Kavala, a philanthropist and human rights activist, to life imprisonment for allegedly “attempting to overthrow the government.”
Kavala has been a strong advocate for human rights, including the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and protection of religious
minorities. His sentencing occurred one day after the commemoration of
the Armenian Genocide, which was committed in the early 1900s by Turkish
authorities who remain in aggressive denial regarding these events.
Multiple
international human rights organizations have condemned his arrest and
detention as politically motivated, and his sentencing comes in defiance
of several warnings issued by Western countries last year.
ICC’s President Jeff King said, “Osman
Kavala has endured multiple hardships because of his human rights
activism which only seeks the betterment of Turkey’s religious
minorities. His sentencing sends a warning to anyone who wishes to raise
awareness about the human rights challenges experienced in Turkey. The
timing of this announcement sends a particularly dire warning to the
survivors of the Armenian genocide, who only just yesterday experienced
multiple pressures from the authorities for commemorating the event.”
In
2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled for Kavala’s
release. Turkish courts have continuedly ignored the demands to comply
with the binding verdict. Authorities first detained the Turkish
philanthropist on Oct. 18, 2017, accusing him of involvement in the 2013
Gezi Park protests. Kavala was acquitted in 2020 of those charges, but
the ruling was later overturned and combined with other charges in the
2016 coup attempt.
Kavala is renowned by many human rights
organizations for his establishment of foundations to support religious
minorities in Turkey. Additionally, Kavala continually advocated for
more dialogue surrounding the Armenian Genocide, an Ottoman-era genocide
that killed and displaced an estimated 2 million Armenian Christians.
In 2007, following the murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink by a
Turkish nationalist, Kavala pushed for greater reconciliation between
Turks and Armenian Christians.
ICC’s joint report entitled Turkey: Challenges Facing Christians 2016-2020 shared how “Kavala’s
support and influence regarding the protection of non-Muslim cultural
sites, the recognition of diversity in Turkish society and his
encouragement for dialogue following the genocide of Christians, drew
the ire of nationalistic elements within the government. In October 2017
he was arrested and charged with anti-government crimes under Articles
309 and 328 of the Turkish penal code.”
Amnesty International stated, “Today,
we have witnessed a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions.
This verdict deals a devastating blow not only to Osman Kavala, his
co-defendants, and their families, but to everyone who believes in
justice and human rights activism in Turkey and beyond.”
For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Junta in Myanmar is out of control
International
Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on April 8, dozens of soldiers
from the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) raided a Catholic compound in
Myanmar’s Mandalay in search of “hidden weapons.”
Approximately
40 soldiers forced their way into Sacred Heart Cathedral during Lent
preparations in the afternoon, holding scores of worshippers for hours,
including Archbishop Marco Tin Win.
Asia News reports
that junta soldiers stormed in and demanded to know where the gold,
money, and weapons were hidden, stopping anyone from fleeing. One source
revealed to UCA News, “They claimed to have been tipped off about weapons being hidden in the clergy center.”
When
Father Dominic Jyo Du, vicar general of the Archdiocese, tried to
explain that the only money they had was donations raised for the poor,
he too was pushed into the cathedral. Archbishop Marco Tin Win, who was
in another building at the time of the raid, was taken to the cathedral
and ordered to sit with the others.
The soldiers left after
nearly three hours when they failed to locate any weapons. Afterwards,
the local Catholic community in the city’s five parishes was alerted and
many expressed their concerns about the raid.
“We were relieved that no one was hurt or arrested, and we could resume our church services,” a parishioner of the Way of the Cross shared with UCA News.
“The
Tatmadaw’s ongoing assaults against churches and religious leaders
should not be ignored by the international community. The junta soldiers
not only intimidate Christians, they also often occupy, desecrate, and
loot churches around the nation. It is common for them to target
religious clergy and detain them as well. The Tatmadaw must be held
accountable for all the crimes it has committed,” said Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia.
Genocide continues in Nigeria
Fulani
militants killed 14 Christians, including women and children, in
Nigeria’s Benue State on Monday night. The attack happened around
midnight in the Tarka Local Government Area, close to the state capital
of Makurdi.
Pictures from the scene show the deceased lying on
the ground, with wounds that appear to be machete cuts. A boy as young
as three years old can be seen in one of the photos.
Benue State
is predominantly Christian, and its governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has long
spoken out against the continued violence in the region. Governor
Ortom’s continued advocacy for the protection of Christians in the state
has made him a prime target of Fulani militants, who attempted to
assassinate the governor in a 2021 attack.
According to The
Observer Times, a Fulani group claiming to protect Fulani interests took
responsibility for the 2021 attack in a press statement: “Our courageous fighters carried out this historic attack to send a great message to Ortom and his collaborators,” the group claimed in a statement signed by Umar Amir Shehu. “Wherever you are, once you are against Fulani long term interest, we shall get you down.”
Last year, Nigeria earned the distinction of being the worst country for Christian persecution in ICC’s 2021 Persecutor of the Year Awards.
Radicalized and armed Islamist Fulani militants have killed tens of
thousands of Christians and left more than 3 million displaced in a
20-year genocide against them.
“Christian communities in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria have effectively suffered a 20-year genocide,” said ICC President Jeff King. “Where
is any action? The Nigerian government gives these attacks lip service
without any meaningful response. Where is the outcry? Where is effective
action? In Nigeria, the military, the police, and the intelligence
agencies are all controlled by Muslims. This, coupled with a 20-year
lack of response by these agencies, should naturally lead to deeper
questioning by the international community. Simply put, the time for
cheap talk and platitudes is over. The world is waking up and starting
to ask, ‘Is the Nigerian government complicit in these attacks?’ Time
will tell, but for this long-time watcher, the decision is in.”