Watani was able to obtain the details of the killing some three weeks ago of the Copt Missak Nasrallah, 58, in the North Sinai town of al-Arish.
Muhammad Ibrahim, Mr Nasrallah’s colleague, told Watani the horrendous story. The two men were worked together with the health directorate of the district of al-Qusseima in Arish. Mr Ibrahim says that, as Mr Nasrallah rode with another colleague, Hamada Naguib, into Arish on 5 May returning from work outside town they were stopped by masked men who bluntly asked: “Are there any infidel Nassara (a derogatory term used to denote Christians) in the car?” Mr Nasrallah owned he was Christian, and was promptly shot to death by a barrage of bullets.
The killing of Mr Nasrallah left bitterness in the hearts of all his colleagues, Mr Ibrahim said. “He was a person of integrity who had earned the love and respect of all around him. His movements on that fateful day were known only to those who worked with the health directorate, meaning that he was betrayed by one of them. Several of them are seasoned Islamists who believe in jihad, even if they do not personally practise it and therefore cannot be held by law.”
Mr Nasrallah was buried in his hometown of Badr in Beheira, west of the Nile Delta, after which his widow and sons went back to Arish to hold a memorial service for him and receive condolences from friends. A church source in Arish said that official investigations were ongoing, but no results were out yet.
WATANI International
17 May 2016