Egyptian Attorney-General accepted the application for the judicial review filed by the mother of twins Andrew and Mario, with the solidarity of 22 human rights organizations, of the court ruling which granted custody of the Christian boys to their Muslim Convert father. This application is now pending an urgent judicial hearing, which is expected to be set latest within a month.
The decision of the Attorney-General was hailed by many as a breakthrough in this long-standing battle between the mother of the twins and their converted father. Mother Camelia Lutfi has fought with her ex-husband over alimony support and custody of their twin sons in 30 different cases since their separation.
This case of the Coptic twin boy’s fight for their right to remain Christian has captured public opinion, both nationally and internationally.
The Appeal Court of Alexandria had ruled on Sept. 24 to grant custody of the then aged 13-year-old Christian twins to their Muslim father. This decision was taken in accordance to sharia [Islamic] law and not the Egyptian civic code, which allows for children under the age of 15 to stay with their mother regardless of their religion. However, Islamist judges typically resort to Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution, which states that "principles of Islamic law are the principal source of legislation."
Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said that the Attorney General’s decision to use his right to re-consider cases with final rulings – following the submission of the appeal last November – was met with large acceptance. It is an extremely positive step to address this issue, which gained the public opinion’s attention, and represents a legal and human rights issue, important for the future of freedom of belief and citizenship.
"This case represents one of the most important issues facing Christian children and their mothers, where the father has converted into Islam. It will be a great opportunity to discuss this issue before the Court of Cassation, when the session
is determined, to review the ruling made by the judiciary in Alexandria, to drop prematurely the custody of the mother for her two children and grant it to their Muslim covert father Medhat Ramses", he added.
Nagy Artin of the MARED group,’Egyptian against Religious Discrimination’
said that the consent of the Attorney General for the judicial review came after long-term efforts on the part of the children’s mother and the solidarity of more than 22 human rights organizations, within the outside of Egypt. He pointed mainly to the support of the official organizations, the National Council for Human Rights and the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood due to their belief in the justice of the case and the children’s right to choose to stay with their mother, in accordance with the provisions of the Egyptian Constitution and international norms. This decision came to correct the situation, to put an end to this issue, pending a final ruling in favor of the mother and the children.
Ms. Lutfi’s expressed her overwhelming joy at this long-awaited news, which confirms her belief that the ruling against her and in favor of the
father was not right. The decision of the Attorney-General, which came
after examining the case file, and transferring it to the family court, is a confirmation of the validity of the reasons presented in the appeal memorandum filed by her, with the solidarity of numerous human rights associations. She believes it also means the forthcoming of a decision in their favor.
The dilemma of this mother started when her former husband left her in 1999, converted to Islam to remarry a Muslim women, and then went on to marry a second and a third (since Islam allows four wives at a time). At that time Camellia requested and obtained her civil and Church divorce.
Once Camellia obtained her divorce from Church, her former husband started a war against her. He used the corrupt legal system in Egypt, which always sides with the Muslin convert party against the Christian one.
Andrew’s and Mario’s story caught the attention of the media when they declared publicly that they are Christians and will defy any ruling to change that. During a school test in the mandatory Islamic religion in May 2007-students have to pass Religion exams to be promoted to a higher
class- the twins answered none of the questions. On his blank answer sheet Andrew wrote "I am Christian" and Mario wrote: "My religion is Christianity". They failed the exam and had to re-take it, but again insisted on writing these single phrases.
The long-running case of the twins exemplifies the problem but is in no way unique; there are hundreds of cases pending in front of the courts for children in the same position as Mario and Andrew.