Release International report on Bishoy Boulos, a Christian convert who remains in jail for reporting attacks on churches and trying to change his religious ID.
An Egyptian Christian who reported attacks against churches is still
behind bars a week after other journalists were pardoned.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the release of two
Al Jazeera journalists jailed after reporting unrest. They were on a
list of 100 people pardoned ahead of the current UN summit in New
York.
But one broadcaster who remains behind bars is
Bishoy Boulos - a convert to Christianity who was imprisoned for
reporting attacks against churches.
Release International,
which serves persecuted Christians around the world is calling for his
immediate release.
'It's great news that high-profile
journalists were set free,' says Chief Executive Paul Robinson. 'But
Bishoy Boulos remains in jail for reporting on attacks against
Christians - and for asserting his claim to be a Christian. Egypt must
set Bishoy free and deliver on its promise to guarantee full religious
freedom.'
Bishoy Armia Boulos is also known by his former
Muslim name, Mohamed Hegazy. He was arrested on December 4, 2013, in
the Egyptian city of Minya.
The security service claimed
he was working for The Way TV, a Coptic, Christian-owned, US-based
religious television channel. They accused him of contributing to a
'false image' that there was violence against Christians in Minya.
The charge asserted that reporting the burnings of churches
and attacks against Christians would in some way 'harm the national
interests of the state'.
Two related charges were
dismissed on appeal. Bishoy should have been released in May. But then
a second charge was levelled against him of blasphemy against Islam.
And that case is still under investigation.
'Bishoy's
continued detention probably has more to do with his earlier
conversion from Islam than to any alleged offence connected with
reporting,' says Paul Robinson. Robinson is the Chief Executive of the
UK-based Release International, which supports persecuted Christians
around the world.
'Release rejects the charge that
reporting church burnings somehow created a 'false image' of the
troubles facing Christians in Egypt,' he adds. 'Minya has been the
site of numerous well-documented attacks on Christians, church
buildings and Christian-owned properties. A fact-finding visit by
Release International in 2013 confirmed reports that scores of
churches had been burned.'
According to Bishoy's lawyer,
his client has been badly beaten in Tora prison, as well as being
dragged across a concrete floor. His head has been shaved, a
punishment normally reserved for violent criminals.
The
blasphemy charge for which he is awaiting trail is linked to his
attempt to change his religious identity from Muslim to Christian on
his official ID card. Bishoy has faced a long history of opposition,
harassment and detention for asserting that right.
Born in
1982, Bishoy converted to Christianity in 1998. After his conversion
he was arrested several times and tortured to try to make him recant
his faith in Christ.
He received international media
attention in 2007 as the first Egyptian Christian convert to file a
lawsuit to try to change his religious status.
As a
result, he was threatened with death. Islamic scholars demanded his
execution and the Minister for Religious Endowments publicly affirmed
the legality of executing Muslims who converted to Christianity.
Bishoy's wife, Christine, also changed her faith. According
to press reports, parents on both sides of the family threatened to
kill the couple, who have been ostracised by other family members.
They had to go into hiding with their daughter, Miriam.
No family members have been to visit Bishoy in prison. And Release
partners say his family has not contacted him since his conversion.
Bishoy's lawyer asserts that the time allotted for
investigations into the 'blasphemy' charge has now elapsed. He has
filed a formal complaint with Egypt's attorney general about his
client's treatment and continued detention.
'Bishoy's case casts doubt on assurances of religious freedom in
Egypt's new constitution, and reflects the continuing vulnerability of
Christians in Egypt - especially those from a Muslim background,' says
Paul Robinson.
Release has launched the campaign
#everyright to call on the Egyptian government to make good its pledge
of religious freedom for all, which is guaranteed in the
constitution.
'The continued persecution of Bishoy Boulous
reveals two things,' says Paul Robinson: 'the authorities are
reluctant to face the truth about continuing attacks against
Christians, and converts to Christianity remain at serious risk
despite the country's new constitution, which is supposed to protect
religious freedom.
'Unless there is a clear mechanism to
enforce the rights of the country's Christian minority, those rights
are likely to remain every bit as theoretical as they have been in the
past,' he adds.
The Release campaign #everyright includes
an online petition, which can be signed at releaseinternational.org
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners,
including TV journalists from Al Jazeera, last Wednesday. Observers
point out their release came the day before the President was due to
attend the United Nations summit of world leaders in New York, and on
the same day that France announced an arms deal with Egypt.