Activists say the government has not done enough to prosecute the perpetrators of sectarian violence, relying instead on reconciliation forums known as customary sessions. Over the past few months, Egypt has witnessed a number of sectarian conflicts between Muslims and Copts, causing damage and material losses, mostly sustained by the Coptic community.

Activists say the government has not done enough to prosecute the perpetrators of sectarian violence, relying instead on reconciliation forums known as customary sessions. Over the past few months, Egypt has witnessed a number of sectarian conflicts between Muslims and Copts, causing damage and material losses, mostly sustained by the Coptic community.

The Egyptian Parliament is set to pass the Church Construction Law (CCL) to regulate conflicts over how and where churches can be built. Parliament continues to discuss the draft CCL after a dispute between the government and the Church over the need for security approval for the construction or repair of churches was ended when the government backed down. The draft CCL however does not address the issue of customary sessions.

Last month an old Coptic woman was made to strip by members of the Muslim community in Minya Governorate, south of Cairo, allegedly in connection to a rumour that a church would be built nearby. The government allowed customary arbitrators and the Egyptian Family House Faiyum Branch (EFHFB) to intervene to reconcile between the victim and the perpetrators. Customary sessions have often been used instead of courtrooms recently to resolve other incidents in the governorate.

Talk, not punishment

“The EFHFB’s interference to hold reconciliation sessions is unofficial with no permission from the EFH,” says Raphael Sami, EFHFB Secretary. “No respectable country depends on these sessions instead of law enforcement.” He says these sessions are for reconciliation purposes only, while the culprit should still be punished. Sami says Bishop of Minya Bishop Makarios has demanded law enforcement, but the problem lies with the law enforcement bodies that sometimes do not enforce law, thus wasting the victims’ rights

However the EFHFB’s Dispute Settlement Committee official Ayman Shukri says customary sessions settle a lot of problems between citizens in coordination with security services, without resorting to the criminal justice system. He cites the example of a reconciliation session he held recently in the village of Sila near Faiyum.

Coffin peace

Abu Issas, a Muslim and a member of the perpetrator’s family, met with Jesses, a Copt, and a member of the victim’s family: a member of the former’s family had killed a member of the latter’s in a dispute. During the session, says Shukri, penal terms were signed with pledges not to avenge the murder of the dead. The Muslim family gave a coffin to the Coptic family to prevent retaliation.

Shukri underscores that the customary session, which brought together security leaderships and senior families of the village, has not affected the criminal penalty since the culprit will be prosecuted. Customary sessions, says Shukri, solve a lot of problems. A few weeks ago another customary session was held in the city of Senoras in Faiyum Governorate to settle an incident in which the accused was a Copt. The session was attended by a member of the parliament (MP), the sheriff and the security director. Both parties pledged not to attack the other. The issue was contained before turning into a major sectarian crisis.

Although Shukri is convinced of the importance of these sessions, he nevertheless stresses the need to enforce the law and punish offenders. “True, we intervene to prevent escalation, but culprits should be prosecuted,” Shukri told Correspondents.

Absent institutions

Lawyer and human rights activist Saeed Abdulhafez says customary sessions have become a “parallel judiciary.” Because the state and its institutions are absent, there is no political will and the legislative framework has failed to deal with sectarian incidents, according to Abdulhafez.

Customary sessions, says Abdulhafez, lack legal basis and texts and only rely on subjectivity in sentencing, which has caused Copts’ situation to deteriorate where the majority of the verdicts issued by these sessions do not do justice to the weaker party, the Copts.

MP for Bandar Faiyum Hisham Wali says the governor and the security director in Minya must be replaced in the next political reshuffle for their failures in order to restore confidence. Wali says customary sessions are exploited by individuals and don’t work. He believes the Minya incidents do not represent a national threat however as they are isolated. He adds that the Church Construction Law, which Parliament is set to pass, will help people understand the regulations for building new churches. Much of the sectarian violence in Minya has been attributed to false rumours of buildings being turned into churches.

Equality Commission

With the recent escalation of sectarian incidents, MP Anissa Hassouna announced the start of joint meetings between the parliamentary Human rights Committee and Constitutional Committee to discuss her proposed law to establish a commission to achieve equality and prevent discrimination.

In a press statement, Hassouna said there is a need for this law at the present time to confront sectarian violence and not just settle for the customary sessions that lead to perpetrators’ impunity, promote more hatred and punish victims rather than protect them.

Abdulhafez stresses the need to end customary sessions and revisit discriminative legislation. He advocates for the removing of the religion field from IDs, passing the Houses of Worship Bill, and establishing an independent commission to end discrimination against the Copts. The commission, says Abdulhafez, should have the power to examine the complaints of religion-based discrimination.

Fenced-in

General Ashraf Aziz, MP for Fayoum Governorate, says that although “customary sessions are respected in some areas,” it is expected that the CCL will be issued within days, “which will solve a lot of sectarian problems on condition of complete enforcement.” Aziz however believes there are other obstacles in the bill because. He cites that the requirements for a church construction permit, for example, include building a fence around churches with an area of over 300 square metres.