ICC Note: Five Egyptian Christians are on trial for alleged blasphemy after a video made mocking the jihadist group ISIS was found by some local Muslims. A mob threw rocks at the homes of some of the students, aged 15-16, before they were arrested and have now been charged with blasphemy, a crime that could carry a sentence of five years in prison.
05/10/2015 Egypt (Breitbart) Egyptian authorities arrested five Coptic Christian children after a Muslim mob accused them of blasphemy. The mob was upset they appeared in a video that allegedly “mocked” Islam, but really only made fun of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), which is determined to wipe Christianity, Judaism, and non-compliant Muslims off the Earth.
The police had arrested the Coptic teacher and held him for four days, but the mob nonetheless demanded more punishment, descending upon the homes of the children and “threw rocks at the homes of the youth in a bid to force their parents” to surrender the kids.
“The case of the five arrested in Minya and charged with blasphemy represents yet another case of how Egypt continues to bend to the weight of extremist ideology,” explained Todd Daniels, the Middle East regional manager for International Christian Concern. “A video – not even shared publicly – that mocked ISIS, a group that openly beheaded twenty Egyptian citizens, has already put these five in prison and may lead to lengthy prison sentences. Despite progress in terms of rhetoric from [Egyptian] President [Abdel Fattah el-Sisi], Egypt has pervasive persecution that continues to occur not only on the societal level but also in the judiciary.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is the first leader to attend Christmas Eve Mass and visit St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo.
“It’s important for the world to see this scene, which reflects true Egyptian unity, and to confirm that we’re all Egyptians, first and foremost,” he claimed at the time. “We truly love each other without discrimination, because this is the Egyptian truth.”
However, blasphemy laws in Egypt still exist. Article 98 states the punishment:
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A judge this week denied the jailed boys leave to take end-of-year school exams as he remanded them and Younan into custody for a further two weeks pending continued investigation, according to a local monitor with Washington-based International Christian Concern (ICC), which is also following the case.
“It’s fair to say that these boys are headed for trial based on how we’ve seen similar cases play out in the past,” Todd Daniels, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, told FoxNews.com.
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“There is over $1 billion in aid every year that goes to Egypt, and these dollars must remain linked to progress that is made on Egypt’s human rights record,” said Daniels.
“Egypt has a crucial role to play in countering violent extremism in the Middle East, but blasphemy cases on frivolous charges like this only increase the grip of extremists.”
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