By Mennatallah Fouad Youssef CAIRO: Rights groups and lawyers representing the victims of the Maspero crackdown said Wednesday they withdrew from the ongoing military trial of the soldiers accused of running over protesters by armed personnel carriers last October. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: The events of Oct. 9 were a full-fledged conspiracy led by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to kill peaceful protesters, Muslims and Christians, according to a statement released Thursday by 29 political powers and public figures at a press conference Thursday. “SCAF faced the peaceful march with live ammunition …
By Omnia Al Desoukie CAIRO: Following its coverage of recent clashes between protesters and armed forces that left 25 people dead, experts hold state media accountable for misinformation, blaming it for many of the society’s ailments including sectarianism. Last Sunday, when a Maspero march was attacked, state TV called on Egyptians to defend the military from …
By Heba Hesham CAIRO: International human rights organizations called for independent investigations into the Maspero clashes that took place Sunday between protesters and the armed forces leaving 25 people dead and over 300 injured. “Any investigation into Sunday’s clashes must be independent, thorough and impartial, deliver answers to the Egyptian public, and identify those responsible,” a …
By Essam Fadl CAIRO: A fact-finding mission arrived in Aswan on Wednesday to launch an investigation into the incidents surrounding the Marinab Church, which started late last month. A subsequent protest in Cairo demanding Coptic rights was met with violence by Egypt’s army forces, leaving 25 dead and more than 300 injured on Sunday. Minister of …
By Omnia Al Desouki CAIRO: The ruling military council denied that army forces used live ammunition against Maspero protesters on Sunday, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, General Adel Emara said, “Soldiers driving armored vehicles were trying to avoid civilians who were throwing stones and …
By Maggie Michael / AP CAIRO: Egypt’s Coptic Christians have long felt like second-class citizens in their own country. Now many fear that the power vacuum left after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak is giving Muslim extremists free rein to torch churches and attack Coptic homes in the worst violence against the community in decades. An …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Human rights experts said the Cabinet’s decision to issue a unified law for building houses of worship will do little to defuse sectarian tension in Egypt, agreeing that implementing those laws is what counts. In a statement issued Monday evening, the Cabinet said that a new article would be added to the …
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: The military prosecution is holding 12 people for 15 days pending investigations after clashes between the armed forces and protesters in front Maspero left 25 people dead and over 300 injured on Sunday. The names of 20 protesters were presented in the prosecution’s list of detainees, but only 12 were present …
By AFP VATICAN CITY: The Congregation for Eastern Churches at the Vatican on Monday slammed as “senseless violence” the clashes in central Cairo that left 25 people, mainly Coptic Christians, dead. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri told Vatican Radio he hoped the violence “would not lead as well to a climate of precariousness and difficulty” for the Coptic …
By AFP GENEVA: The UN human rights office on Tuesday urged Egyptian authorities to ensure that any probes into clashes which killed 25 people, mostly Coptic Christians, be conducted in an impartial and independent manner. Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed regret over the deaths, and called on the authorities …
By Reem Abdellatif CAIRO: Hazem El-Beblawi, Egypt’s deputy premier and finance minister, submitted his official resignation on Tuesday to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the ruling military council, an official told Daily News Egypt. El-Beblawi “is officially resigning because he says the government and the Cabinet failed to take action and respond responsibly to the events …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Political powers failed to agree on a statement to issue in a press conference Monday in the wake of clashes between protesters and army forces, which left 25 dead and more than 330 injured on Sunday. Participating political forces said they would issue a statement including a list of steps to take …
By Safaa Abdoun CAIRO: Political powers and analysts agreed that Sunday’s bloody clashes are an impediment to the democratic process, especially with the parliamentary elections approaching. The election committee will accept nominations for parliamentary candidates for both the People’s Assembly and Shoura Council, who will submit their documents through branches of Egypt’s appeals court. “Sunday’s violence …
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: Activists and rights groups condemned Sunday night’s fatal clashes between army forces and protesters in central Cairo, which left 25 dead and around 330 injured. The death toll and number of injuries continued rising as violence escalated into the early hours of Monday. A final count is yet to be announced. …
CAIRO: The US has made “no offers to send troops to protect Coptic places of worship in Egypt,” its Cairo embassy said in a statement. The statement denied press reports that cited US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying that the US offered to “protect religious minorities” in Egypt. The US embassy in …
By Agencies LUXEMBOURG: European Union foreign ministers on Monday condemned the worst sectarian violence in Egypt since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and told authorities to do more to protect religious minorities. “It is about time that the Egyptian leadership understands the importance of religious plurality and tolerance,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said, highlighting …
By Reuters CAIRO: Egypt’s ruling military council called on its government on Monday to carry out a swift investigation into clashes that erupted between Christian protesters and military police, leaving at least 25 people dead. State television showed Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawy, who leads the council, and other generals meeting a day after the …
By AFP CAIRO: Clashes broke out outside the hospital where protesters injured during ensuing violence in downtown Cairo had been taken. AFP reported that hundreds of Muslims and Coptic Christians exchanged blows and threw stones Sunday near a Cairo hospital treating wounded from earlier deadly clashes, an AFP journalist witnessed. The clashes took place near …
By Reem Abdellatif, Amira Salah-Ahmed and Dalia Rabie CAIRO: Clashes between protesters and army forces turned fatal on Sunday, leaving at least 24 dead and 212 injured, according to Egypt’s health ministry, as violence escalated in central Cairo and the toll continued rising. A curfew was imposed in central Cairo and surrounding areas starting Oct. 10 …
By Reem Abdellatif CAIRO: Three soldiers were killed and at least 30 injured Sunday in violent clashes between protesters and army forces after a march from Shoubra to Maspero was met with violence, Egyptian state TV reported. Eyewitnesses also reported several possible fatalities and tens of injuries among protesters. Tear gas was reportedly heavily used, causing …
