Christians blame Coptic violence in Egypt on 'excessive' police tactics

Christians in Britain have expressed concern over police handling of protests by Coptic Christians in Egypt yesterday.

Unrest broke out in Cairo when as Christians protested against the decision by city authorities to halt the construction of a church.

Although the authorities claim the church does not have the required permit, Coptic sources told Christian Solidarity Worldwide that permission had been granted to build the church.

Violence erupted when around 5,000 riot police turned up at the site of the church where hundreds of Copts were protesting.

In the ensuing clashes, cars and windows were damaged and at least one protester was killed.

Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK said: “We completely reject the use of violence. This is not in the nature of Egyptian Copts.

“However, we believe the demonstration could have been policed in a much better manner and that the mishandling of the demonstration by the police force caused it to spiral out of control.”

CSW Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston blamed the violence on “excessive” police tactics and expressed his sadness at the “unnecessary” loss of life and injuries.

“Excessive police tactics, including the throwing of stones at the protesters, contributed to a peaceful protest degenerating into a street brawl,” he said.

Churches are not allowed to construct new buildings unless they have received a presidential decree.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide said that obtaining such a decree compared “unfavourably” with the “straightforward” process of obtain permission to build a mosque.

Although legislation to regulate the construction of mosques and churches on a more equal footing has been before the Egyptian parliament since 2005, it has yet to be finalised.

Mr Johnston said: “CSW urges the Egyptian government to address the restrictive church building regulations that sparked this protest by finalising a unified law for the construction of places of worship in order to avert future tension. We also call for the exercising of restraint when policing protests on such a delicate issue.”