3 Christians detained for distributing dates saying the ‘Lord loves you’

Three Christians were detained in Alexandria on Monday and forced to pay bail of LE10,000 each on charges of insulting Islam by placing Christian messages in packages of dates.

One of the messages read, “The Lord knows all that occurs, for He is the mighty knower, He can carry on his shoulders all that is oppressive and exhausting and bring comfort and joy, for He loves you very much,” according to Mina George, who posted a picture of the date packaging on Facebook.

George captioned the image, “The most expensive bag of dates in the country. This bag of dates cost a young Christian man LE10,000, along with two of his friends, who were also Christian. Each of them was fined LE10,000, because they were trying to distribute dates to people in the street. Egypt is beautiful.”

Ishak Ibrahim, freedom of belief officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), said that a Muslim man found the message inside the packaging offensive and took the young man to a police officer, who remanded him in custody.

Stephen Botros Fayed, one of the men who was detained, then got a call around 8.30 am, informing him that a friend of his had been detained, at which point he and a friend went to help.

Fayed posted a detailed timeline of what happened to them on Facebook, in which he asserted that upon arrival both he and his friend, who had not been involved in distributing the dates, were also detained. All three of them were taken to the Montaza police station, where their phones and identification cards were confiscated.

They were detained for several hours, according to Fayed, before they were taken to the prosecution. Ishak says they were charged with insulting Islam, which is illegal under Egyptian blasphemy laws.

Eventually, the three men were released on bail, which was set at LE10,000 each, but according to Ishak, the case is still open and they could be called to trial if the general prosecutor demands it.

Fayed wrote that the entire case was “unjustified,” as “my friend and I had nothing to do with it, and our detained friend was only distributing dates.”

He added, “If someone had been caught with hashish or was drinking alcohol on the street, it would have been easier for them than everything we’ve gone through.”

Ishak explained that these types of cases are typical concerning minorities, especially Coptic Christians and Shia Muslims. He said such cases have been increasing and there have been 15 similar “blasphemy cases” since January 2015.

“This is a negative indication for the future of minorities,” Ishak said, adding, “Every week you can read new stories about the police arresting minorities.”

A press release by EIPR in June, 2014, condemned the rising number of blasphemy cases and reported that since 2011, there were a total of 48 such cases brought before the authorities, the majority of which targeted Coptic Christians.

Under the Egyptian Penal Code, “Ridiculing the heavenly [Abrahamic] faiths, and the propagation of atheism in words, writing, or other means is punishable by sentences of imprisonment of up to five years, and/or fines of up to LE1,000.”

The penal code also criminalizes desecrating religious symbols, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, and/or fines of up to LE500, while mocking a religion or religious rite in public is a crime carrying the same penalties.

However, this, along with other blasphemy laws, seems to conflict with the religious freedoms guaranteed by the 2014 Constitution. Article 64 of the Constitution guarantees absolute religious freedoms and Article 65 safeguards freedom of thought, expression and opinion.