Nine years ago, Coptic Solidarity launched an annual initiative, the Modern Coptic Martyrs Remembrance Day, in recognition of the increasing number of Copts being killed for their faith.
Not only are numerous Copts in Egypt suffering martyrdom, but many live a daily martyrdom existing without equal citizenship rights which impacts every single aspect of life. Coptic Solidarity works towards equal citizenship rights of the indigenous Coptic Christians who live under systematic discrimination by the Egyptian government and society.
Thirteen years ago on this date, the Egyptian army, murdered 27 Copts and injured 327 others who were peacefully protesting the government’s closure of a church in Aswan, which came to be known as the Maspero Massacre. The government has yet to take responsibility for this brutal attack in which soldiers used live ammunition without warning and drove armored personnel carriers in zig-zag patterns through the protestors to kill as many as possible.
Alaa Abd El Fattah, a non-Coptic, Egyptian writer and activist worked alongside Copts to improve human rights for all Egyptians. He joined Copts in the Maspero Square in protest, and has spent much of the last decade behind bars as a political prisoner for his activism. Coptic Solidarity continues to urge the Egyptian government to release Alaa Abd El Fattah.
Watch Coptic Solidarity’s program for the 10th anniversary of the Maspero Massacre which includes testimony from Alaa’s family, survivors, activists, and government officials to learn more.
