“Throwing bottles at members of the Muslim Brotherhood during their celebration of the first anniversary of the January 25, 2011 revolution was an intrigue concocted by losers in the elections,” Sālih said in statements.
He said it was the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that protected the revolution and al-Tahrīr Square and it was the Muslim Brotherhood that protected the demonstrators on the day of the Camel Battle.
Sālih warned of a plan to cause division. “The Muslim Brotherhood would not be involved in conflicts with anyone simply because we seek preserving the interests of this country,” he said.
He noted that the Brotherhood would keep on enduring any harms just like they did for 82 years. “The group members will remain tolerating tough situation and we’ll be observing utmost patience with the Egyptian people.” [Fātimah ‘Abd al-Bāsit, al-Akhbār, Jan. 30, p. 6] Read original text in Arabic
Leading Coptic activists called on all Christians to rally their ranks into one political party so that Coptic votes would not be dispersed in the Egyptian Bloc or other alliances, urging Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III to investigate the bishops who asked Copts to vote for the Egyptian Bloc.
During the conference called by the General Coptic Organization in Egypt, held Sunday (January 29) under the rubric “position of Copts in Egypt after parliamentary elections,” the activists expressed protest against the appointment of five Copts in the People’s Assembly on the grounds that they do not represent all Copts.
Sharīf Dūs, the chairman of the organization, said the status of Copts has not changed after the revolution, and even became worse.
“So far none of the culprits involved in any sectarian crimes was brought to justice,” said Dūs, pointing out that one year after the revolution, no single church was built. He called on SCAF to make public the findings of the investigations into the “Maspero massacre” of October 9, 2011, which left dozens killed or wounded.
Najīb Jabrā’īl, Chairman of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization (EUHRO), said Copts experienced their worst times under Field Marshal (Muhammad Husayn) Tantāwī, adding SCAF has created an atmosphere of banishment of Copts.
“The objective behind the appointment of five Copts in the People’s Assembly is only to marginalize Egyptian Christians,” he said, urging SCAF to form a committee to draft a constitution in which Copts would participate.
Mamdūh Ramzī, the deputy leader of the Reform and Development Party (RDP), said that the church was involved in a dark tunnel and helped offer Egypt on a silver plate for the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We have nothing to do with the implementation of the Islamic sharī’ah in accordance with the texts of the Qur’ān. The hudūd are to be applied to Muslims, not Copts,” he said.
Michael Meunier, the founder and leader of al-Hayāh Party, criticized the recent parliamentary elections and termed them as “unfair”.
“A party in the Egyptian Bloc insisted on banishing Copts away from running on the bloc’s lists,” he said. [‘Imād Khalīl, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Jan. 30, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
On the other hand, a military court decided to adjourn the cases of virginity tests and Maspero incidents to the February 5-6 sessions.
Plaintiff Samīrah Ibrāhīm attended a court session on Sunday (January 29) with her lawyers in the case in which drafted physician Ahmad ‘Ādil al-Mūjī is standing trial over conducting virginity tests on women held under custody at the Military Prison for involvement in the March 9, 2011 sit-in dispersing incidents.
The court also adjourned the case in which three soldiers are being tried on charges of manslaughter during the October 9, 2011 incidents outside the Egyptian Radio & TV Union (ERTU) building in Maspero for the defense counsel’s request to study the case. [‘Alī Shām, al-Ahrām, Jan. 30, p. 6] Read original text in Arabic
Egyptian political activist and blogger Michael Nabīl, who spent 302 days before SCAF pardoned him on the first anniversary of the January 25, 2011 revolution, said he spent very long times in solitary confinement.
“Even if I was allowed mingling with other prisoners, they are strictly ordered not to talk with me otherwise they usually got beaten and verbally abused,” said Nabīl in an interview with al-Ahrām newspaper.
He denied that he was beaten while he was in prison but said he was harassed in other ways by having his hair cut and forced to take off his clothes and stay in his underwear for a long time until his prison uniform is brought. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Ahrām, Jan. 30, p. 6] Read original text in Arabic
