The European Parliament today unanimously condemned the Maspiro clashes in Egypt that left 27 dead and scores injured. The EU body urged the Egyptian government to set assurances for the protection of religious minorities and religious freedom. “The European Parliament convened a meeting at the European Coptic organization to learn more about the Maspiro clashes,” said Kamal Abdul Nour, the head of the Austria Copts Authority. He went on to say that “727 parliamentary members attended the meeting, after which a press conference condemned the violence against Copts on October 9, 2011.” “The European Parliament expressed its sorrow for the victims' families and welcomed the Egyptian government's fact-finding committee tasked with investigating the incident,” Nour continued. “The parliament also praised the law allowing the building of houses of worship freely and criminalizes discrimination,” he added. The Parliament asked the Egyptian authorities to investigate honestly. The parliament also urged the Egyptian authorities to revise Article Two of the Egyptian Constitution, which states that all Egyptian law is derived from Islamic law. The parliament wants to make sure that constitutional rule does not discriminate. The parliament also urged for the release of Egyptian Coptic activist Michael Nabil.
