The announcement came after Egyptian police apparently entered the Cairo homes of MECA spokesman Wagih Yaob, 45, and his colleague Victor George, 47, arresting both in pre-dawn raids Saturday, November 10. Later in the day they detained Mamdouh Azmy, the group’s lawyer, from his office in Alexandria, added Nader Fawzy, president of the group, which has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada.
Police also took personal belongings from the two men in Cairo, including George’s daughter’s laptop and university identification card, as well as other computers and mobile phones,
Fawzy said in statements.
Yaob and George already received 15-day detentions and their lawyer was expected to receive a similar sentence shortly on charges that apparently include "defaming Islam" and "damaging Egypt’s reputation."
MORE WORKERS DETAINED
The latest detentions came shortly after two other MECA workers were released last week after nearly three months behind bars. Adel Fawzy Faltas, 61, and Peter Ezzat, in his 20s, were detained August 8 on charges of "threatening social peace by propagating anti-Islamic material" as well as "insulting Islam, jeopardizing state security" and preaching Christianity.
The controversy focused on their investigations into cases of apparent persecution of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority and their alleged involvement in helping a man to convert from Islam to Christianity. It was unclear if the activists detained this weekend, held in Cairo’s Tora prison, could face long prison terms. Fawzy said Yaob and George already received 15-day detentions while their lawyer may hear a similar sentence shortly.
However he suggested the eventual freedom of the activists may depend on the closure of MECA’s operation in Egypt. "The Middle East Christians’ Association is faced with the possible closure of it budding Office in Egypt under a lot of pressure from the authorities, for this is the price that we pay for the release of our activists," he said.
MISSION STATEMENT
MECA has a mission statement calling for secularism, and equality with full citizenship for Christians living in the Middle East. "With the office closed and the membership disbanded, Christians in Egypt would have lost a voice," Fawzy said in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife. With the closure of the MECA branch, he said, "Egypt will fall victim to the forces of extremism on one side and corruption on the other and Christian and Muslim alike will suffer."
Christians comprise up to 10 percent of Egypt’s population, which is mostly Muslim. Egyptian Christian groups have complained about an increase in arrests and harassment in recent months. A United States government report in September said Egypt had seen a marked decline in religious freedom and while Egypt’s constitution provided for freedom of belief, the government restricted those rights.
However Fawzy said his group would be intimidated, despite the apparent pressure by authorities. "If the regime in Egypt is afraid of re-opening the dossier of our martyrs…we will make sure the real story is exposed anyway and families of the martyrs are duly compensated. If we can’t work from within, we will work from without. We will not stop till we get what is rightly ours and this is a promise."
Egypt’s Interior Ministry has said it has "no information" about the detained activists. (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos and reporting from Egypt).
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