One of the beautiful things about the United States is that we are guaranteed freedom of religious expression, thanks to the brilliance of our founders who enshrined this God-given right in the amendments to the Constitution. This gives us the liberty to discuss our religious beliefs, attend a church of our choice, and follow our conscience as we parse out how to live a godly, holy life in honor of Christ.
Unfortunately, this right does not exist everywhere.
via The Christian Post:
Advocates for religious freedom are urging the Egyptian government to release two Christian men, Nour Girgis and Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, who have been detained without trial since 2021 for their association with a Facebook page that supports individuals converting from Islam to Christianity. Authorities linked their involvement with terrorism activities.
In November 2021, Girgis, an employee at a pharmaceutical company, was summoned to a police station under the pretense of routine questioning, said legal advocacy group ADF International, in a statement.
This led to an incommunicado detention for 40 days, added the group, which is backing international legal efforts for the men’s release. Subsequently, Girgis was transferred to a Terrorism Unit where he was informally accused of leading a Facebook group named “Al Abareen,” meaning “to cross over” in Arabic, and committing blasphemy against Islam.
The report revealed that Girgis has been put through the wringer, having endured several interrogations, humiliation, and severe physical torture, all without receiving a formal trial date, which has prevented him from being able to prepare an adequate legal defense.
Saeed, who originally hails from Yemen, faced being taken into custody for activities on Facebook — the same group as Girgis — along with evangelizing in public. He’s since then been transferred to several different detention centers, has suffered from severe medical issues, which have been exacerbated by poor conditions where he’s being held.
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What’s worse is his family has only been allowed to see him a few times here and there, including his son, who entered this world while his dear father was being held prisoner for sharing his faith.
The group says it has reported the situation to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, arguing that the Egyptian authorities have violated international law standards for religious freedom and fair trial rights.
Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International’s director of advocacy for Global Religious Freedom, stressed the Egyptian government’s responsibility to adhere to its international human rights obligations. “The rights to religious freedom, free expression, and a fair trial are all enshrined in international law, and Egyptian authorities have blatantly violated these basic rights by detaining these men and prolonging their imprisonment. It is past time for these men to be released,” she said.
Samuel Brownback, a former Senator and Ambassador-at-Large for international Religious Freedom, commented on the implications this case could have.
“The freedom of religion and belief is an unalienable human right, worthy of the highest protection. What has happened to these two men in Egypt is unacceptable, and an undeniable violation of their right to worship freely,” Brownback, went on to say, making a reference to the growing worldwide hostility toward religion, particularly the Christian faith, going on to stress the need for additional advocacy to help preserve religious minorities the whole world over.
Incidents of Christian persecution in Egypt vary from Christian women being harassed while walking in the street to Christian communities being driven out of their homes by extremist mobs. Christians are typically treated as second-class citizens.
“Egypt’s government speaks positively about the Egyptian Christian community, but the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. Churches and Christian nongovernmental organizations are restricted in their ability to build new churches or run social services,” The Christian Post concluded.