Egyptian Coptic Christian and 'Fourth-Class Citizen' Describes Savage Massacre During Congressional Hearing

"I'm a woman and I'm a Copt. I'm a fourth-class citizen in Egypt."

That was among the many chilling revelations put forth in a testimony to Congress this week by Egyptian political activist Cynthia Farahat. The Coptic Christian and co-founder of the Liberal Egyptian Party, testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives, reliving the horrors of the massacre at Maspero and sharing her experience on the worsening plight of Christians under sharia law in Egypt.

Reps. Frank Wolf and James McDermott presented the hearing, "Under Threat: The Worsening Plight of Egypt's Coptic Christians."

According to the Center for Security Policy, the center that organized the hearings and brought this must-see video to The Blaze's attention, describes Farahat's political platform as advocating, "secularism, human rights, capitalism, the rule of law, and rejection of pan-Arabism and Islamic imperialism."

Below is a partial transcript of Farahat's moving, and disturbing testimony before Congress. The video follows:

In 1971, President Sadat introduced shariah law to the constitution and now I think it's, qualifies to say that Egypt is a constitutional theocracy and it's not a modern state. The consequences were that Copts are no longer, according to shariah law, identified or defined as citizen. I have an Egyptian passport, but I'm not a citizen. The concept of citizenship is a Western concept that does not apply to us in Egypt. I'm a woman and I'm a Copt. I'm a fourth-class citizen in Egypt. A first-class citizen in Egypt is the Sunni male, Muslim male. The second-class is the Sunni female. The third-class is the Coptic male. And fourth-class is the Coptic female.

And that's why none of the people that committed crimes, none of the criminals that committed crimes against Copts were prosecuted in any way. Because it is against shariah law and that's a fact. It's not an opinion. To persecute someone for - a Muslim, for killing, raping, torturing, or vandalizing the property of a non-Muslim or a dhimmi. So this is our legal status. And this has been happening under the Mubarak's so-called moderate regime, an ally of the West, and it's now happening now. It was only inevitable that they take their radicalism a step further and start killing Copts in the street in front of TV cameras with live ammunition and running them over with armored military vehicles they probably got from the United States of America.

Dave Reaboi at CSP brings us the following video of Farahat discussing the massacre of Christians at Maspero. It is roughly seven minutes long and well worth watching through to completion.

Caution, Farahat's descriptions of the massacre are graphic:

Farahat describes an instance at the Maspero massacre:

As a secular Muslim, Abdel-Fattah was a more serious target of the regime. Under the dictates of shariah, he is considered a traitor and apostate from Islam, and the appropriate punishment is death. Abdel-Fattah was at the protests in Maspero on behalf of equality for Copts. Outrageously, he might be facing murder and terrorism charges-as the regime is trying to frame the massacre of dozens of Copts in Maspero on him.

Michael Mosad was, like myself, a liberal Coptic political and human rights activist. I knew him well. He was one of the people killed by the Egyptian military at Maspero on 9 October 2011. He was at the protest with his fiancé, Vivian, and the newly engaged couple was terrified. Suddenly, she said she did not feel Michael's hand in hers. She then saw him caught in the wheels of a military vehicle that drove onto the pavement and ran him over. His skull was fractured and his legs were nearly severed from his body. As she sat next to him crying and calling for help, soldiers gathered around Michael, brutally beating and kicking his motionless body. Vivian threw her body over his to protect him. She begged them to stop, but military officers beat and cursed her; they called her an infidel, "Christian sons of dogs," and worse.

Later on, after describing other atrocities, Farahat states:

The Coptic Christians at Maspero were killed with live ammunition, and with weapons the military probably acquired through its average of $2 billion in annual military aid from the United States.  A massive shipment of 21 tons of tear gas was just sent to Egypt from the US before the elections.  These weapons are not used by the military against militant Islamists who are trying to subvert and destroy our country, institute shariah law, and inflame the broader Middle East; these weapons are used against the allies of the United States of America, the Copts and the secular moderate Muslims. 

To view additional videos from the hearing and read the entire transcript, please visit Center for Security Policy.

This story has been updated for clarity. Bold emphasis added by The Blaze.

(h/t: Dave Reaboi at CSP)