Nelson to Clinton: Condemn Coptic Persecution

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing concern over the recent violence against the Coptic Christian community in Egypt that claimed two dozen lives earlier this month. Nelson, writing on behalf of the Coptic community in Florida, said, “The brutal crackdown of the Coptic Christian community jeopardizes [Egypt's] already fragile transition to democracy,” and demanded that “sanctioned repression must not be tolerated.”

Nelson added that he “encourages [Clinton] to redouble [her] efforts to condemn religious persecution and other human rights abuses, and to impress upon [her] Egyptian counterparts that they must adequately protect the rights of all minority communities.”

The violence in Egypt prompted protests from Coptic Christians living in Florida, and the group hoped for a response from U.S. government officials.