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Christian Beaten to Death in Iraq by ISIS for Refusing to Convert
09/02/2014
Washington, D.C.
International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Salem Matty Georgis, a 43-year-old Christian from Bartella [also Bartalah], Iraq was beaten to death for refusing to convert to Islam. This represents just the latest atrocity committed by the group which labels itself "The Islamic State" (known also as ISIS, ISIL).
Georgis remained in the Syriac Christian town of Bartella after it fell under the control of ISIS on August 7. He "was suffering from heart disease and couldn't leave Bartalah with his family when the town [was] occupied by the terrorist Islamic State because of his illness," a relative told theAnakawa news site.
Georgis had remained in hiding in his home for three weeks, surviving only on what was left in his house. When everything was depleted he left his home in search of food, his relative continued. Apparently, he was confronted by an ISIS patrol in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary. "The patrol arrests him and tried to force him to convert to Islam, but he completely refused. Thus, the militants beat him and tortured him until he died in their hands," Ankawa reported.
"Exactly we don't know why in this situation they killed this man," William Warda of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization told ICC. "Generally they have allowed people to leave, without money or documents, but alive," he said.
Warda met just yesterday, September 1, with a family who had just reached the Kurdish controlled area after being robbed and escorted out of Al-Hamdaniya, the same district as Bartella. "Go to [Masoud] Barzani, he will protect you," the family was told according to Warda, as they were driven out of the district and then forced to walk, before eventually finding help and being able to contact relatives.
ISIS is known for its brutality which has included mass executions, particularly of Shia and military figures. They have also released video showing public beheadings, including those of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
"The reports we have received reveal acts of inhumanity on an unimaginable scale," Flavia Pansieri, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in her opening remarks to the UN Human Rights Council's special session on Iraq held on September 1, the same day that Georgis was beaten to death in Bartella.
"The massacres and abductions being carried out by the Islamic State provide harrowing new evidence that a wave of ethnic cleansing against minorities is sweeping across northern Iraq,"said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's Senior Crisis Response Adviser in release of areport documenting the ethnic cleansing of and systematic targeting of Iraq's religious minorities.
More than 1.2 million people are believed to have been displaced since mid-June as a result of the advances of ISIS in west and central Iraq.
Todd Daniels, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "The international community cannot remain silent about the existential threat that Iraq's Christian communities are facing. We are witnessing the emptying of Christians from their homelands. We applaud the United Nations for meeting regarding these human rights abuses, but in the face of such horrific violence, action must be taken to ensure the protection of these communities."
For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: RM-ME@persecution.org
# # #
You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
09/02/2014
Washington, D.C.
International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Salem Matty Georgis, a 43-year-old Christian from Bartella [also Bartalah], Iraq was beaten to death for refusing to convert to Islam. This represents just the latest atrocity committed by the group which labels itself "The Islamic State" (known also as ISIS, ISIL).
Georgis remained in the Syriac Christian town of Bartella after it fell under the control of ISIS on August 7. He "was suffering from heart disease and couldn't leave Bartalah with his family when the town [was] occupied by the terrorist Islamic State because of his illness," a relative told theAnakawa news site.
Georgis had remained in hiding in his home for three weeks, surviving only on what was left in his house. When everything was depleted he left his home in search of food, his relative continued. Apparently, he was confronted by an ISIS patrol in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary. "The patrol arrests him and tried to force him to convert to Islam, but he completely refused. Thus, the militants beat him and tortured him until he died in their hands," Ankawa reported.
"Exactly we don't know why in this situation they killed this man," William Warda of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization told ICC. "Generally they have allowed people to leave, without money or documents, but alive," he said.
Warda met just yesterday, September 1, with a family who had just reached the Kurdish controlled area after being robbed and escorted out of Al-Hamdaniya, the same district as Bartella. "Go to [Masoud] Barzani, he will protect you," the family was told according to Warda, as they were driven out of the district and then forced to walk, before eventually finding help and being able to contact relatives.
ISIS is known for its brutality which has included mass executions, particularly of Shia and military figures. They have also released video showing public beheadings, including those of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
"The reports we have received reveal acts of inhumanity on an unimaginable scale," Flavia Pansieri, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in her opening remarks to the UN Human Rights Council's special session on Iraq held on September 1, the same day that Georgis was beaten to death in Bartella.
"The massacres and abductions being carried out by the Islamic State provide harrowing new evidence that a wave of ethnic cleansing against minorities is sweeping across northern Iraq,"said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's Senior Crisis Response Adviser in release of areport documenting the ethnic cleansing of and systematic targeting of Iraq's religious minorities.
More than 1.2 million people are believed to have been displaced since mid-June as a result of the advances of ISIS in west and central Iraq.
Todd Daniels, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "The international community cannot remain silent about the existential threat that Iraq's Christian communities are facing. We are witnessing the emptying of Christians from their homelands. We applaud the United Nations for meeting regarding these human rights abuses, but in the face of such horrific violence, action must be taken to ensure the protection of these communities."
For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East: RM-ME@persecution.org
# # #
You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
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