Press Releases

12 October 2008

New Lawsuit Challenges Mandatory Premarital Testing

Update: The first hearing on the case has been scheduled for 30 December 2008.

8 October 2008

Samalut's Sectarian Violence: Fighting Impunity is the Only Way to Reconciliation

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) today released the preliminary findings of its inquiry into the sectarian violence that took place in the village of Al-Tayeba, located in the Samalut district of Al-Minya Governorate, on Friday, 3 October. The violence left one dead and four injured and involved arson and the destruction of homes, land and property.

15 September 2008

A Landmark Decision Sets New Basis for the Legal Protection of the Right to Health in Egypt

The ruling by the Court of Administrative Justice (CAJ) earlier this month suspending the establishment of the Health Care Holding Company introduced significant changes to the legal framework for the protection of the right to health in Egypt, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said today.

21 August 2008

Violations by Security Agents Threaten Violence against Copts in Beni Soueif Village

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) cautioned today about the possible outbreak of sectarian violence in the village of Deshasha, located in the district of Sumusta in the Governorate of Beni Soueif, after police used violence on Sunday, 17 August, to prevent village Copts from repairing the only church in the village.

6 August 2008

Abu Fana: Reconciliation is No Substitute for Justice

Reconciliation efforts following the armed assault on the Abu Fana Coptic monastery in Minya last May must not lead to impunity for the perpetrators of serious abuses, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) warned today.

21 July 2008

New Report Finds Rising Sectarian Tensions in Egypt since April

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) today issued its second quarterly report on freedom of religion and belief in Egypt, documenting developments in the area of religious freedom during the months of April, May and June of 2008.
 

8 July 2008

Preparatory Hearing Held at Supreme Constitutional Court on Religious Conversion Case

Legal experts of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) yesterday held a first preparatory hearing on the new lawsuit (case number 92/30) concerning the constitutionality of a legal provision that allows citizens to change their religious affiliation in public records.

27 May 2008

On Coptic Personal Status Laws: State is Responsible for Protecting Right to Marry and Found a Family

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) today called on the state to assume its legal responsibility to protect and fulfill the right of all citizens to marry and found a family, a right enshrined in the Egyptian constitution and international human rights law.

13 April 2008

Mahalla Victims of Police Brutality Handcuffed to Hospital Beds… Public Prosecutor and Doctors' Syndicate Must Intervene Immediately

Dozens of citizens injured in last week's demonstrations in the city of Mahalla remain handcuffed to their hospital beds in violation of Egyptian and international law and medical ethics, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said today. The EIPR called on the Public Prosecutor and the Doctors' Syndicate to intervene in order to ensure that the handcuffs are removed immediately and to investigate those responsible for this violation.

10 February 2008

Egypt: “Re-Conversion” Decision Is a Welcome Step

Government Should Protect Converts from Discrimination, Harassment