The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said Wednesday that the return of displaced families to Beni Suef through a new customary session is an incomplete step, and will not solve the sectarian tension.
A village in Beni Suef has witnessed religious conflict over the past week, following the alleged insulting of Islam by a Coptic man on Facebook.
After days of conflict, meetings were held in the village, but the outcome was the forcible displacement of the man and four of his relatives’ families. Despite the meeting, a further 10 homes were reported by Coptic sources as having been burned in ongoing attacks.
EIPPR criticised the customary sessions, which “turned into a parallel judiciary lacking the minimum guarantees of fair trial and non-discrimination”.
“The state takes shortcuts with these types of violations and attacks on the property of citizens,” said EIPR in a statement.
The organisation called for fundamental changes in the methods dealing with sectarian attacks, and not relying only on security solutions, with the application of the law.
Article 63 of the constitution bans “forced arbitrary displacement of citizens in all its forms and manifestations”.
The head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization, Naguib Gabriel, filed a report against Bani Suef’s governor and head of security due to the decision to displace the Coptic families.
