CAIRO: Coptic activist and lawyer Naguib Gobrael is calling on the Egyptian government to legalize adoption for Christians since it is permissible in their religion. "We are currently working on a draft law on adoption made up of 17 articles which we will present to the [National Democratic Party's] policies committee, said Gobrael, head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights. "Why does the state enforce the Christian jurisdiction when it comes to marriage and divorce but it doesn't enforce it when it comes to adoption? he asked. Gobrael referred to the ongoing legal battle which saw the imprisonment of Egyptian Medhat Besada and his American wife Susan Hagelof, as well as Iris Botros and her husband Luis Andros, for allegedly being involved in human trafficking. "Adoption is not forbidden in Christianity but is forbidden in Islam. It is unconstitutional for the state to arrest and jail the parties involved in the case who are all Christians, whether it is the mother [or] the father, said Gobrael, who is the attorney representing Besada and Hagelof. The couples were arrested when they went to the US embassy in Cairo to apply for a visa for their adopted children using fake birth certificates. Embassy officials became suspicious of the documents, partly because the women seemed too old to be the mothers, as both Hagelof and Botros are in their mid to late 40s, according to CNN. "[Arresting them] is a violation of Article 46 of the Egyptian constitution, which says 'The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rights', said Gobrael. Gobrael said that it is also a violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. As for the allegation that the defendants have forged official documents, Gobrael finds that the number one criminal in this case is the state as it forced his clients to resort to forgery in order to fulfill their dream of having a child. Adoption, whereby the family gives the adopted child their name, is illegal in Egypt. Fostering is the legal practice. "The adoption law in Egypt does not differentiate between Muslims and Christians . Religion is not involved in the matter as the child's religion or name is kept the same, the family just raises the child in their home, said Essam Mohamed Ali, lawyer specialized in family law at Ezz Law firm. "What happens is the family goes to the responsible body, which is in this case an orphanage, and applies for adopting a child, however when their application is approved and they have a child they can't give him or her their name, he explained. The trial of the couple is scheduled to start on May 16 along with six other people, including two doctors and a nun who ran a local orphanage. If convicted of human trafficking, the defendants could face up to 10 years in prison.
