They are demanding justice.
Advocates are intensifying pressure on the Egyptian government to immediately release Nour Girgis and Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, two Christian men who have been held without trial since 2021. Their detention stems from their association with a Facebook page advocating conversion from Islam to Christianity, which authorities have controversially linked to terrorism.
Nour Girgis, employed by a pharmaceutical company, was initially summoned for routine questioning but was unexpectedly subjected to 40 days of incommunicado detention. He was later accused of spearheading the Facebook group and charged with blasphemy against Islam. Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, hailing from Yemen, faced a similar fate, being arrested a month later for comparable activities. His situation has been further compounded by transfers between detention facilities, exacerbated by inadequate medical care.
ADF International, a legal advocacy group, has taken up their cause and brought their plight to the attention of the United Nations, highlighting violations of international standards concerning religious freedom and fair trial rights. Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International’s director of advocacy, stressed Egypt’s obligation to uphold these fundamental rights and called for the immediate release of the detainees. Samuel Brownback, former U.S. Senator and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, also condemned the situation, underscoring the importance of the right to worship freely.
Christian persecution in Egypt spans from individual harassment to the forcible displacement of entire communities by extremist factions. Despite Egypt’s purported tolerance towards its Christian population, insufficient law enforcement and a reluctance to safeguard their rights render them susceptible to persecution. Restrictions on the construction of new churches and the operation of Christian organizations further compound these challenges. The cases of Girgis and Saeed serve as poignant reminders of the broader issues surrounding religious freedom and fair trial rights in Egypt.
Efforts to secure their release persist, with advocacy groups like ADF International and individuals like Brownback calling for international intervention. Their case serves as a microcosm of the larger concerns regarding religious freedom and minority rights within Egypt and in the global context.