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106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 367
Urging the Government of Egypt to provide a timely and open appeal for
Shaiboub William Arsel and to complete an independent investigation of
police brutality in Al-Kosheh.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 5 (legislative day, September 22), 2000
Mr. Mack submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the Government of Egypt to provide a timely and open appeal for
Shaiboub William Arsel and to complete an independent investigation of
police brutality in Al-Kosheh.
Whereas on Friday August 14, 1998, two Coptic Christians, Samir Oweida Hakim and
Karam Tamer Arsal, were murdered in Al-Kosheh, Egypt;
Whereas, according to a report from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
that was translated by the United States Embassy in Cairo, up to 1,200
Coptic Christians, including women and children, were subsequently
detained and interrogated without sufficient evidence;
Whereas it is reported that the police tortured the detained Coptic Christians
over a period of days and even weeks and that the detainees suffered
abuses that included beatings, administration of electric shock to all
parts of the body, including sensitive areas, and being bound in painful
positions for hours at a time;
Whereas Egypt is a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
Whereas the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment prohibits torture to obtain information and
confessions such as the torture that reportedly took place in Al-Kosheh;
Whereas Egypt is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights;
Whereas Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
states that ``(1) Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to
adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either
individually or in community with others and in public or in private, to
manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and
teaching. (2) No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his
freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice.'';
Whereas some of the 1,200 detained Coptic Christians reported that the police
chief made derogatory remarks about their religion and stated that the
detainees were being targeted because of their religious beliefs;
Whereas the summary report of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights states
that, as a result of the massive roundup and torture of the Coptic
Christian community, a prosecution proceeded using confessions obtained
under duress;
Whereas, according to the report, as translated by the United States Embassy in
Cairo, one of the confessors ``was detained for 18 days, beaten
constantly, was not allowed food or water, and prevented from relieving
himself'' and ``confessed only when they threatened to rape his two
sisters'' who ``were brought to the police station, tortured and
threatened with rape in front of him'', and the detainee identified
Shaiboub William Arsel as the murderer;
Whereas Shaiboub William Arsel, a Coptic Christian, was charged with the murders
of Samir Oweida Hakim and Karam Tamer Arsal, was found guilty, and was
sentenced on June 5, 2000, to 15 years of hard labor;
Whereas, according to the Associated Press story describing Shaiboub William
Arsel's trial, ``[t]he court based its guilty verdict on evidence and
testimony provided by police, said the officials on condition of
anonymity'' and ``gave no further details'';
Whereas no known international observers were present at Shaiboub William
Arsel's trial;
Whereas, on January 2, 2000, a mob of nearly 3,000 Muslims killed 21 Christians
and destroyed and looted dozens of Christian homes and businesses in the
village of Al-Kosheh; and
Whereas local Egyptian security forces failed to stop the massacre of Coptic
Christians, and according to Coptic leader Pope Shenouda III,
``responsibility falls first on security forces...the problem lies among
the authorities in the area where the incident occurred'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE APPEAL OF SHAIBOUB WILLIAM ARSEL
AND THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT'S INVESTIGATION OF POLICE
BRUTALITY IN AL-KOSHEH.
The Senate hereby urges the President and the Secretary of State to
encourage officials of the Government of Egypt to--
(1) allow for a timely and open appeal for Shaiboub William
Arsel that includes international observers; and
(2) complete an independent investigation of the police
brutality in Al-Kosheh.
SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.
The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this
resolution to the President and the Secretary of State, with the
request that the President or the Secretary further transmit such copy
to the Government of Egypt.
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