WRITTEN QUESTION E-2456/00 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council. The case of William Shaiboub.
Date: 2000-07-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Egypt, crime against individuals, imprisonment, religious group, torture

C 113 E/100

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

(2001/C 113 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2456/00

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council

(24 July 2000)

Subject: The case of William Shaiboub

On Monday, 5 June 2000, Coptic Christian William Shaiboub was sentenced to 15 years with hard labour
for the murder of two men in El-Kosheh village, Egypt,
in August 1998. William Shaiboub(cid:146)s arrest
followed the indiscriminate round up and detention of over 1000 Copts in late August/September 1998.
Many of these, including William himself, were tortured, the photographic evidence of which was leaked
to the West. The sole prosecution witnesses against William Shaiboub both quickly retracted their
statements saying that they had only admitted his guilt under duress. In addition, William Shaiboub(cid:146)s
trial was postponed on numerous occasions, leading to widespread speculation that the timing of his
sentencing was being deliberately delayed in order to await a time when international attention might have
diverted elsewhere.

Is the Council aware of William Shaiboub(cid:146)s sentencing?

What representations does it intend to make on his behalf to the Egyptian authorities?

Reply

(20 November 2000)

The Council bodies have discussed the outbreak of sectarian violence perpetrated upon the Coptic
is aware that on 5 June
community in Upper Egypt, particularly in El-Kosheh. The Council
William Shaiboub was sentenced to 15 years(cid:146) hard labour for the murder, in August 1998, of two men
in El-Kosheh. He lodged an appeal against that sentence on 12 June. The Council will continue to follow
this case very closely.

(2001/C 113 E/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2457/00

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 July 2000)

Subject: Eradication of tuberculosis

I welcome the recent announcement at the 2000 Quelez EU-US Summit reiterating the EU(cid:146)s commitment
to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

With particular reference to tuberculosis, could the Commission confirm what practical measures will
actually be taken to contribute to the eradication of this disease, particularly in Africa and Asia, and how
much funding would be allocated to programmes?

The World Health Organisation states that,
from a public health perspective, poorly supervised or
incomplete treatment of TB is worse than no treatment at all. The WHO recommended treatment strategy
for detection and cure of TB is DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-course). Does the Commission
agree that
the DOTS strategy represents the most effective method for the detection and cure of
tuberculosis?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(25 September 2000)

Tuberculosis (TB) is in most cases curable if the drugs are taken continually for the full duration of the
course. Problems arise when there are interruptions to supply or when the patient stops treatment when
he feels better. This is a recipe for development of resistance of the TB bacillus to drugs. DOTS (directly
observed treatment, short-course)
is the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended standard
treatment against tuberculosis and has developed as a result of 20 years of programme experience. This