In the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Egypt, the random and brutal violence against Coptic Christians is on the rise. The latest attacks by Egyptian police against members of the religious minority on Wednesday left one dead and some 20 wounded. The police used extreme brutality in breaking up a peaceful demonstration by Copts protesting a ban on the construction of a church. Ninety-three Copts were arrested. "The Egyptian government appears to be campaigning at the expense of the Christian minority in this predominantly Muslim country. That is the only explanation for the disproportionate reaction of the Egyptian police," said Kamal Sido of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) Asia section on Thursday in Göttingen.

At the same time the democratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner and former chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed Al-Baradei, called for a boycott to protest the undemocratic election conditions for the parliamentary elections set to take place on Sunday. "The boycott is intended to underscore the fact that the Mubarak regime is not a legitimate democracy. Opposition parties are heavily disadvantaged. The election is neither fair nor democratic," stated the human rights organization. The opposition was prevented from mobilizing their supporters before the election, as candidates were arrested, campaign materials were not permitted in the media, and electronic messages sent by cell phone were restricted.

Terror and violence have long been part of everyday life for Copts in Egypt. In early March 2010 members of this Christian community were victims of pogrom-like excesses. After the Friday sermon in the northern Egyptian city of Mersa Matrouh, 2,000 to 3,000 Islamists chanted radical slogans, threw rocks at church-goers, and wrecked or set fire to Coptic homes and businesses. Violent attacks on Copts in Egypt up to and including murder and rape have increased drastically, as a representative of the Coptic church in Germany reported to the STP. "Our church is also suffering terribly. The Lord's houses are always being burnt down by extremists."

The Christian minority, with eight to ten million members, make up at least ten percent of the roughly 83 million Egyptian citizens. Most of the Christians here are Copts. They belong primarily to the Oriental Orthodox Church. There are also Coptic Catholics, as well as Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Protestant Arabic Christians, each of whom form a small community. In the Egyptian parliament, only 4 of the 440 members of parliament are Christians.

To subscribe to our continuously updated chronicle of human rights abuses against Copts, write to the STP at nahost@gfbv.de.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford