CAIRO: Muslim convert to Christianity Maher El-Gohary filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court last Thursday after he was banned from traveling abroad with his daughter.
El-Gohary filed the case against Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Minister of Interior Habib El Adly when he was prohibited from traveling on Sept. 17, and again on Sept. 22 when airport security confiscated his passport, according to his lawyer Nabil Gobrael.
In addition, El-Gohary demanded LE 1 million in compensation for financial and emotional damages he endured after the ban, added Gobrael.
We have requested from the interior ministry to reveal the reasons behind banning El-Gohary from traveling before the court proceeds with the case, Gobrael told Daily News Egypt.
El-Gohary regards the ban as a breach of his rights as an Egyptian citizen.
I tried to travel outside Egypt because there is no place for me here anymore after the death threats I ve been receiving and my inability to obtain my constitutional rights as an Egyptian citizen, El-Gohary told Daily News Egypt.
I decided to travel to demand religious asylum, he said, adding that he has already received verbal approvals from several countries he refused to disclose.
El-Gohary s case made headlines and drew the attention of human rights organizations last August when the Christian convert filed a case to the Administrative Court demanding that his religion be changed to Christianity and his name to Peter Ethanthios in official documents.
[This situation] has put me in a critical position, said his daughter, 14-year-old Dina Maher El-Gohary.
I can t go to school anymore because of the mistreatment I receive from my teachers and colleagues, she told Daily News Egypt.
I avoid befriending Christians; all my friends are Muslims, added the secondary school student who finds herself forced to attend Islamic studies classes at school.
According to official documents, I am a Muslim. Although I go to church every week, my teacher mocked me and kicked me out of the classroom when I once attempted to attend Christian studies class.
On converting to Christianity, Dina said, At first, I used to go to church secretly with my father. I read the Bible and I felt that I love the religion. After my father announced his conversion to Christianity, I agreed to file a case in my name to request changing the personal information on my official documents.
