Title

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

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
210 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
United States
Official Transcript: 
Members: 
Name: 
Hon. Chris Smith
Title Text: 
Chairman
Body: 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Name: 
Hon. Joseph Pitts
Title Text: 
Commissioner
Body: 
Commissioner on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Name: 
Michael Posner
Title Text: 
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Body: 
Department of State
Name: 
Hon. Robert Aderholt
Title Text: 
Commissioner
Body: 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Name: 
Hon. Gus Bilirakis
Title Text: 
Congressman
Body: 
U.S. House of Representatives
Witnesses: 
Name: 
Dina Guirguis
Title: 
Attorney
Body: 
Egyptian American Rule of Law Association
Name: 
Samuel Tadros
Title: 
Research Fellow
Body: 
Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom
Name: 
Dr. Michele Dunne
Title: 
Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Body: 
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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