EGYPT'S SHI'A CRACKDOWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001457

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA; DRL/IRF COFSKY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2029
TAGS: PHUM PREL KIRF KISL PTER EG IR
SUBJECT: EGYPT'S SHI'A CRACKDOWN

REF: CAIRO 547

Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor
Donald A. Blome for reason 1.4(d)


1. Key Points

-- (C) According to Mohamed al-Darini (ref A),a leader of
the Egyptian Shi'a Supreme Council of the Descendants of the
Prophet, Egyptian security forces have arrested approximately
300 Shi'a since mid-April. The Council's headquarters has
been shut down by authorities.

-- (C) Most of those arrested have been released, but
al-Darini reported that twelve remain in custody, including
Egyptian Shi'a cleric Sheik Hassan Shehata Moussa, arrested
in early July.

-- (SBU) Shehata, arrested for "showing contempt for Islam,"
is a well-known Egyptian cleric who converted from Sunni to
Shi'a Islam.

-- (C) According to al-Darini, Shehata is being badly
mistreated in Cairo's Torah Prison.


2. (C) Comment: The arrests occurred in an increasingly
anti-Shi'a environment. In December 2008, after Hizbollah
leader Hassan Nesrallah's harshly criticized Egypt's response
to Israel's Gaza operation and again in April, following
press reports that a terrorist cell with Hizbollah
connections had been uncovered in Egypt, state-controlled and
some independent news outlets warned of growing Shi'a
influence in Egypt. (Note: On July 26, Egyptian prosecutors
announced that 26 alleged members of the Hizbollah cell had
been referred to a state security court for trial on
terrorism-related charges.) It is not clear why Shehata and
the others were arrested and the GoE has not given a public
explanation for its actions. MFA Deputy Assistant Minister
and Counterterrorism Coordinator Ashraf Mohsen told us the
GoE could not comment on Shehata or the other Shi'a arrested.
Al-Darini suggested, without providing any further
explanation, that the crackdown is related to the GoE's
rivalry with Iran.


3. (C) In a July 27 meeting, al-Darini told us that since
April, Egyptian security forces have quietly detained around
300 Shi'a. According to al-Darini, 60 were arrested in
Cairo's Abu al-Nomrus neighborhood and another 240 were
arrested in 6th of October City, a Cairo suburb which is home
to an Iraqi Shi'a refugee community. Al-Darini said that
all, except Shehata and his eleven followers, were released
by mid-July, without charges, although some of the detainees
were foreigners who were deported.


4. (C) According to al-Darini, security officials detained
Shehata on July 2 at Cairo International Airport upon his
return from Syria. Twelve followers were arrested soon
afterwards. Shehata rose to prominence in the early 1990s as
the imam of a Sunni mosque. His sermons were often televised
and widely circulated on tape. In 1994, Shehata became a
proponent of Shi'a theology. In 1995, the GoE arrested him
on charges of "insulting Islam" and held him for several
months. Since his release, Shehata has maintained a
low-profile. According to al-Darini, lawyers representing
Shehata, including from well-respected human rights NGO the
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, report that Shehata
has been tortured.


5. (C) Al-Darini said that Egyptian security forces ordered
him approximately two weeks ago to close his organization's
headquarters. Al-Darini complied.
Tueller