Press Releases

Today, Congressman French Hill (R-AR), along with Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), Dave Trott (R-MI), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), introduced a resolution expressing concern over attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt.

“I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt earlier this year,” said Rep. Hill. “While preparing for the trip, visiting the country, and returning home, I repeatedly heard about the plight of the Coptic Christians in Egypt. Although the Copts have been victims of numerous terrorist attacks by groups like ISIS, what is most disturbing to me is the amount of attacks against Copts carried out by their fellow Egyptians.

“While I appreciate Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s actions to reform education and his support for religious tolerance, along with our U.S.-Egypt partnership to combat terrorism, I believe that it is critically important for the Egyptian government to end the marginalization of Copts in Egyptian society and make a legal example of any perpetrator who persecutes Egyptian Christians.”

Background:

House Resolution, H.Res. 673, acknowledges the importance of the United States-Egypt partnership in advancing our common interests, recognizes Egypt’s need for certain government reforms, and calls on the Egyptian government to end the culture of impunity and make examples by arresting, prosecuting, and convicting those responsible for attacks on Christians.