By Coptic Solidarity –

I am writing to ask you take a few minutes to take action on behalf of Mohammed Hegazi.  He is being detained in prison as I write this and has a court date scheduled on December, 28th.   We know that he has been beaten, and is being detained on charges that are spurious, and in one instance, beyond the statute of limitations.

See, Mohammed Hegazi is the very first Egyptian to legally attempt to change his personal identification card from Muslim to Christian.  Hegazi converted to Christianity in his teen years, married a fellow convert, and now has two children (who fled Egypt and have sought asylum in Europe.) Hegazi took on a Christian name and now calls himself Bishoy Armia Boulous.

You may ask why this matters?

In Egypt, many facets of life are determined by your faith and what faith is registered on your national ID card. Since Boulous’s card says he’s a Muslim, his children would also be considered Muslims by the state, regardless of their beliefs. They would then be forced to study Islam in school. Marriage, inheritance, custody, and many other issues are all impacted by this simple designation.

Unfortunately, Boulous did not win this right that his Muslim counterparts enjoy even though religious freedom is guaranteed in the constitution.  In fact, it further proved what the Copts of Egypt have long known to be true…they are second class citizens and do not have the same rights and privileges that Muslims have.

That’s why Boulous’ case is so important.  It’s a litmus test for the new Eygptian government. Will authorities continue imprisoning and harassing citizens at will with impunity independent from the new Constitutional guarantees?

The morphing charges leveled at Boulous by police, his immediate re-arrest after he was last released in 2014, and physical violence he has endured while imprisoned, make clear that the driver of repeated harassment, is his conversion from Islam to Christianity.

Boulous has faced numerous charges, stints in prison, harassment, and beatings.  Members of the Security establishment have fabricated these charges against Hegazi as is common in Egypt. The various charges leveled at him are a mere distraction from the clearly real reason that the Egyptian government will not leave him in peace…and this is for his choice to leave Islam and become a Christian.

With his court date fast-approaching, we are asking supporters to please take action on behalf of Boulous by sending a message to the Egyptian Ambassador in the US , Mohamed Tawfik, asking him to raise this case with President El-Sissi. We have provided a pre-written letter. You can choose to personalize this message which will make it more effective, then click submit.

Coptic Solidarity urges President El-Sissi to ensure charges against Boulos are overturned, and all of the outstanding charges against him dismissed with final effect. Coptic Solidarity requests that Bishoy Boulous be immediately released and that those responsible for misusing the justice and security apparatus against him are held accountable.

Advocating with you,
Lindsay Vessey
Director of Advocacy & Development
Coptic Solidarity