Egyptian Copts are increasingly faced with "˜customary-law sessions", especially in case of a dispute between Muslims and Christians. In an incident reported on 4 June 2015 by an Egyptian human rights activist,
several Coptic families were expelled after one Coptic individual was found guilty of publishing supposedly offensive pictures against the Islamic faith. The decision to expel the Coptic families as a form of collective punishment was taken through a customary-law session.
An Egyptian researcher (external expert for WWR) adds: "The few years before the revolution of January 25, 2011 have witnessed a wave of the so-called "˜customary-law sessions" in relation to disputes in which Christians were involved. In those cases the law of the country was excluded and customary-sessions were held. Those customary-sessions, which were very often regulated by Salafists and other Islamists do not do justice to the Christian part. In the post-revolution of 2011, the phenomenon of the customary-sessions continued." The researcher adds that "[-] all these things are happening outside the framework of the law. It is the law of power, not the power of the law. The state is in some way a partner in all this by keeping silent in those critical situations, and has no political will to intervene in this respect."
Dennis Pastoor, persecution analyst for WWR, says: "Customary-law sessions in Egypt greatly endanger the position of Christians because they basically mean an alternative way of doing justice in which minority rights are not guaranteed. Allegedly, Salafists are behind their spread, although the phenomenon itself very likely goes back to tribalism that is behind the actual shape of Islam in the region, according to some analysts. As with other threats, customary-law sessions have continued or increased after the January 2011 revolution under the supervision of Islamist groups; unfortunately even under president al-Sisi (sworn into office 8 June 2014) the trend has continued. This alternative form of justice almost always leads to very unfair decisions to which Coptic communities are particularly vulnerable, especially when they lead to "˜collective punishments" in which the whole community is punished for a supposed wrongdoing of one Coptic individual."
