October 9, 2011 28 Egyptian Christians Were Killed by the Egyptian Military. Four Years Later the Community is Still Shaken and Families Are Pressing for Justice to Be Done

Todd Daniels with ICC’s Egypt Representative

10/09/2015 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) marks with sadness the fourth anniversary of the Maspero Massacre that occurred on the streets of central Cairo on October 9, 2011. 28 individuals were killed and more than 200 injured when military vehicles drove through a crowd of protestors and then opened fire.

Four years later, though the incident has been well documented, the families of those martyred on that day continue to press for answers and justice. The Christian community is still shaken both by the attacks from the military and the continuing impunity that raises even more questions of what place there is for Christians in a country that too often remains divided along religious lines.

Remembering Cairo’s “Bloody Sunday”

The incident was sparked by the unlawful destruction of a church in Aswan and government complicity in covering up what had taken place. “‘Bloody Sunday’ saw hundreds of peaceful protesters, the majority of [whom] were Copts, march from Cairo’s working-class district of Shubra to the state radio and television building Maspero,” Ahram reported.

As has been documented by video evidence and firsthand accounts, the crowd numbering into the tens of thousands was confronted by military forces in riot gear. Then, two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) drove through the crowds, intentionally running over people. Then gunfire was used on the crowds and a number of the bodies taken to the morgues showed multiple gunshot wounds. Then, even as the attack on the protestors were ongoing, presenters on State TV issued calls for more attacks on the protestors, calling them killers and accusing them of attacking the army.

Four Years and Still Calling for the Rights of the Martyrs

“Four years have passed since the Maspero Massacre and the families of the martyrs and victims are still calling for the rights of their martyrs,” Ishaak Ibrahim, Researcher on Religious Freedoms for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told ICC. “No one was really found guilty for the murder of those protesters in the case investigated by the military prosecution.”

“The worst crime any soldiers were charged with was that of manslaughter via negligence, that is, for driving army vehicles haphazardly,” Ibrahim said. “So far none of the commanders who were responsible for giving the orders to the soldiers has been punished and there isn’t any serious investigation to determine the fate of those who opened fire on peaceful Christian protestors,” Ibrahim concluded.

The lack of fair prosecution is even more personal for Vivian Magdy, whose fiancé Michael Mossad was one of those martyred on that day. “The verdict of the military court on the three soldiers in the case is not a deterrent ruling. The court considered that the killing of the martyrs was manslaughter while all the forensic reports of the martyrs prove that the murder is not by mistake,” Vivian told ICC.

“Some people say that we should take the case to international courts, but I disagree with them. We should go in the direction of the Egyptian judiciary to the end. The families of the martyrs of Maspero Massacre won’t leave the case,” Vivian said, “They will struggle to bring the rights of their martyrs.”

Maspero’s Legacy and the Future of Egypt

At a time when the attacks against Christians throughout Egypt remain commonplace across the country, with Minya and Alexandria as just the latest incidents and ongoing concerns about the curtailing of fundamental rights and the judiciary, the legacy of Maspero continues to cast a dark shadow over Egypt.

“I can’t answer for the Christians, but Maspero was a critical moment for people’s perception of the role the army was playing in attempting to kill the revolution,” Ahdaf Souif, a prominent writer and political commentator told ICC, commenting on the legacy of Maspero. “That [feeling] was very much there at the church today.”

The “Procession of the Martyrs” was part of the service in remembrance of Maspero, held at the Archangel Michael Church in 6 October City in Cairo. The memorial drew many, not just from the Christian community, but also public figures, and youth movements.

“In Coptic tradition, the Coptic Orthodox Church is the Church of Martyrs,” Mina Ibrahim wrote for Daily News Egypt. “While the discourse of martyrdom is a strong pillar in the composition of the Coptic Orthodox Church, remembering the blood associated with the massacre of Maspero seems to be a heavy burden on the memory of the Coptic community in general.”

That burden of memory reaches beyond just Cairo, but Egyptians across the world still pause to remember the lives lost four years ago.

In Washington, D.C. a candlelight vigil was held outside the Egyptian Embassy to remember the victims of the attack and “as a reminder that the root causes which led to this horrific event remain present and enable the targeting of minority groups across this region as a whole,” the organizers said in a press release.

“Time has simply not numbed the memory of that horrible attack at Maspero and, in fact, the ongoing impunity and the lack of regard for the investigation of the crimes committed that night has kept the memory alive,” Amira Mikhail, an Egyptian-American activist and co-founder of the Eshhad Project which documents sectarian violence in Egypt and an organizer of the vigil.

“Every year since I left Egypt, I, along with a few Egyptian colleagues, have held a candlelight vigil at the Egyptian Embassy commemorating Maspero as the first time that the military explicitly turned on civilians post-revolution. Devastating as the attack was in and of itself, sectarian calls on State TV to protect the army added fuel to the fire. The events of that night will not be forgotten, especially with the perpetrators of those crimes remaining at large even today,” said Mikhail.

Thinking back on the events of four years ago, Vivian told ICC, “It’s really the fourth anniversary, but it feels as if it is the first anniversary. Everyone is miserable, everyone is frustrated, everyone achy, everyone is still looking for a glimmer of hope.”

Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East said, “As we mark the date when 28 martyrs lost their lives in Egypt, we mourn the loss together with their friends and family. Yet, we must also pause to look at what is being done today to keep from adding to their numbers. The continued attacks against Christians in which the security forces stand idly by, vandalism and destruction of churches without consequence, and the imprisonment of Christians for passing out Bibles all contribute to the atmosphere in which massacres like Maspero take place. Egypt is in desperate need of leadership that provides hope, that delivers on promises to maintain the rights of all Egyptians. The changes needed for a better Egypt for all citizens must come both from the top down as well as from the bottom up.”

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