Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 5420 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
QA
YM YI YE

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 09CAIRO1226, HIGH COURT GRANTS CUSTODY TO CHRISTIAN MOTHER, BUT RULES CHILDREN ARE MUSLIMS REF: A. CAIRO 1109 B. CAIRO 485 C. CAIRO 477 D. 07 CAIRO 2622 E. 07 CAIRO 1427 Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09CAIRO1226.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09CAIRO1226 2009-06-30 12:12 2011-02-16 21:09 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Cairo
VZCZCXRO2372
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #1226 1811249
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 301249Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3053
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001226 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2029 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF SOCI EG
SUBJECT: HIGH COURT GRANTS CUSTODY TO CHRISTIAN MOTHER, BUT RULES CHILDREN ARE MUSLIMS REF: A. CAIRO 1109 B. CAIRO 485 C. CAIRO 477 D. 07 CAIRO 2622 E. 07 CAIRO 1427 Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).
1.(U) On June 15, the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest appeals court, granted Kamilia Lotfy custody of her 14 year-old twin sons Andrew and Mario Ramsis, overruling a September 2008 Alexandria Appeals Court decision that gave custody to the boys' father following his conversion from Christianity to Islam. Ms. Lotfy remains Christian. The appeals court had ruled that upon reaching the age of seven a child must be transferred to the custody of a Muslim father. The Court of Cassation ruling affirmed for the first time the right of a non-Muslim mother to retain custody of her child until the age of 15, even when the father converts to Islam. However, the Court of Cassation upheld its precedent in previous cases that when one parent converts to Islam, the state automatically considers his or her children under the age of 15 to be Muslim.

2.(U) On June 21, The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) released a statement welcoming the court's decision to grant custody to Ms. Lotfy, but criticizing the ruling for falling "short of striking down the discriminatory policy of forcibly changing the religious affiliation of Christian children in official documents when their father converts to Islam." The statement noted that the court "accepted the Public Prosecutor's argument that family courts may not rely solely on the mother's Christian faith to deprive her of custody over her children following her ex-husband's conversion to Islam."

3.(C) XXXXXXXXXXXX SCOBEY
   ...