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LCHR demands the Minister of the Interior to stop some police officers from using people's religion in civil conflicts for the favor of some influential people
LCHR has received a complaint from Mervat Albert who states that the police refused to give her land to her. She says that she owns an area of 8 and a half feddans of agrarian land in Ezbet Abdel Hady – Fayoum governorate, which she has bought from the inheritors of Yousif Sa'd Nakhla. She registered her land ownership contract at Fayoum real estate registration office. She has received court order no. 9886/2004 issued Northern Cairo Court to receive this area of land.
A process server and a survey engineer were supposed to accompany this woman to enable her of receiving her land on 20/8/2006, but the engineer didn't come, which postponed this process to be on 17/9/2006.
During that period, a man called Mohamed Abdo Hemeida claimed the ownership of this woman's land by showing some customary contracts. This man colluded with the police to fabricate cases against the farmers working in this land to force them out of it. The police commissioner of Sanoras police station summoned Mervat and the farmers to the police station and transferred them to the prosecutor's office without any clear charges. Then later they were released.
Sanoras police commissioner has arrested the farmers once again and imprisoned them for several days, and then he transferred them to the state security stating that there is a conflict between two sides who differ in religion. At the state security, the farmers were threatened to give up their land for the ownership claimer and stop dealing with the current owner Mervat or they will be detained.
This has made Mervat send complaints to the Minister of the Interior and the head of the state security in Cairo and Fayoum to investigate this matter. Instead of doing so, the farmers were humiliated and imprisoned without any right to do so. Mervat was also threatened not to enter Sanoras village or a fabricated case will be filed against her, claiming that this is a religious conflict not a conflict over a piece of land.
LCHR wonders, why is religion used in civil conflict among citizens by the state corporations? And who can this woman complain to if the officials are not responding to her demands?
LCHR demands the Ministers of the Interior and Agriculture to respect the law and implement the court order that this woman has to receive her land. It also demands them to take the necessary legal procedure against the corrupted police officers who use religion in civil conflicts. LCHR also demands them to guarantee citizens' rights to safety, freedom and social peace.
For more information, please contact the Center.