The Administrative Court rejects considering the urgent matter in the lawsuit filed by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights to demand the cessation of demolition acts in the Historic Cairo Cemeteries Region.
The 4th Circuit of the Administrative Court of the State proceeding decided to reject the consideration of the urgent matter in Lawsuit No.54318 of the Judicial Year No.77, against the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, the Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, the Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo Governor, and the Head of the Urban Development Fund, demanding the cessation of the negative decision by abstaining from providing necessary protection to cemeteries and archaeological buildings with distinguished architectural heritage located in Historic Cairo Cemeteries Region, together with establishing a sacred area to these antiquities, with the consequence of that, most notably stopping the removal and demolition of all these cemeteries and buildings.
The ECESR’s lawyers filed the lawsuit, as an attorneys of a group of professors and consultants for the preservation of urban heritage and those interested in antiquities and heritage, including: Dr.Jalila Al Qady, Dr.Monica Hanna, Eng.Tareq El Merry, Mrs.Sally Suleiman, Dr.Dalia Hussein. As the lawsuit was filed due to the demolition operations that are carried out in the region of Historic Cairo Cemeteries in Khalifa Neighborhood in South Cairo, known as Al Imam Al Shafaie Cemeteries, and Al Sayyida Nafisa Cemeteries which dated back to the 7th century AD, and which are currently located in the North, South and East of Salah Salem Road.
In the late 19th century, these areas were allocated to bury state senior official and notables, and were established on the same models of the old cemeteries hundred years ago of the late prominent iconic intellectuals in thought, culture, politics, religion, and art, as well as the members of the royal family. In addition, these cemeteries contain the remains of a large group of great intellectuals in the Egyptian national struggle, thought and history.
The Egyptian Center had hoped that the Court would consider the lawsuit and issue an urgent ruling to stop the demolition operations due to its significance. However, the Center’s lawyers were notified verbally by the Court’s rejection to consider the lawsuit in its urgent matter, while referring it to the State Commissioners Authority to prepare a report regarding it.
Recently, news, photos, appeals for aid and demands have spread regarding assaults on the region, and the removal of a number of its archaeological buildings randomly while implementing constructions in the region that aren’t appropriate to its nature and buildings, together with facing severe dangers, such as erasing part of Egypt’s history, heritage building and desecrating the remains of a significant number of its great people in all fields, as several cemeteries were removed, including the cemetery of Abdel Hamid Basha Saddiq who was the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament from 1902 to 1909 during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmy II, the cemetery of Abdullah Afandi Zohdi who was one of the most well-known calligraphers in Egypt’s history and he was the writer of manuscripts on the Prophet’s Mosque, Sabil Umm Abbas, Al-Rifa’i Mosque and others. In addition to the Cemetery of Hassan Afandi Al Laithi who was the painter of the Holy Kaaba Cover, together with Eshq Berian who was a liberated handmaids of Khedive Ismail. Moreover, the news circulating about the removal of Imam Warsh Cemetery who was the owner of the second most common readings of the Holy Qur’an in the Islamic World.
The region contains a large number of cemeteries built in a distinguished architectural style, including the cemeteries of the Prince of Poets Ahmed Bey Shawky, Umm Kalthum, the graveyard of queen Farida, Mahmoud Samy El Baroudy, Sabil and cemetery of Jala Al Din Al Suyuti, Prince Fouad, Asmahan, Farid Al Atrash, the Dome and Mosque of Mahmoud Basha El Falaky, Fatima Al Zahraa Mosque, and other cemeteries of historical and Egyptian figures, together with mosques, domes and sabils.
Within a short period of time, the demolition and removal of parts of the Historic Cairo Cemeteries region have started to implement plans dedicated to establishing and expanding a number of roads and axes which resulted in demolishing or the collapse of a number of the buildings and establishments with peculiar architectural style in an absence of any governmental statements or explanations regarding the details of the plan and without any actual supervision from the competent authorities in the country to protect the aforementioned buildings or the area legally identified for protection, such as the inspectors, the Ministry of Antiquities experts, or the National Organization for Urban Harmony, except the presence of the demolition and removal teams and workers
In its edition No.74 issued on March 29, 2023, the Egyptian Gazette published the decision of the Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities No.233 of 2023, which stipulates in its 2nd Article: “Adding 86 cemeteries in Khalifa and Moqattam neighborhoods, starting with No.1 (the Cemetery of the Prince of Poets, Ahmed Bey Shawki) and ending with No.86 (Manna’a Cemetery)
At the same time, the guards of a number of cemeteries mentioned in the decision were notified with the plans to remove them, including the grave yard of Mohamed Ratib Basha Al Serdar, the Cemetery of the Syrian Al Azm family, Lieutenant General Ismail Salim Basha, Rashwan Basha, Abdullah Al Prince Yusuf Kamal, Nasha’at Del Qaden who was the wife of Khedive Ismail, Ali Basha Fahmy, Mahmoud Samy Al Baroudi, Ahmed Shafiq Basha, Ibrahim Al Helbawy, and Mohamed Mahmoud Basha. It’s noteworthy that the above cemeteries which were registered according to the aforementioned decision, and that signs were painted on the outer walls of some of these cemeteries.
