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2011

From Arab Spring to Coptic Winter: Sectarian Violence and the Struggle for Democratic Transition in Egypt

Members

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Hon. Chris Smith

Chairman

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. Joseph Pitts

Commissioner

Commissioner on Security and Cooperation in Europe

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Michael Posner

Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Department of State

Hon. Robert Aderholt

Commissioner

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. Gus Bilirakis

Congressman

U.S. House of Representatives

Witnesses

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Dina Guirguis

Attorney

Egyptian American Rule of Law Association

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Samuel Tadros

Research Fellow

Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom

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Dr. Michele Dunne

Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

Atlantic Council

On Sunday, October 9, 2011, 25 people were killed and more than 300 injured when the Egyptian military attacked a peaceful group of Coptic Christians protesting the burning of a church in Aswan. In what has been deemed the “Massacre at Maspero,” referring to the location of the demonstration, witnesses say the army fired on the demonstrators with live ammunition and plowed into the crowd with armored vehicles. The military denied the use of live ammunition and claimed that their soldiers were attacked by an armed mob. The military has arrested at least 28 people, almost all Copts, including prominent blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, and brought them before military prosecutors. The hearing focused on violence perpetrated against the Coptic Christians in Egypt, the implications of the events for that community and the current Egyptian leadership, and prospects for the consolidation of democracy in Egypt.

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