A building under construction in a poultry farm in the village of Jaafar, al-Fashn, in BeniSweif some 100km south of Cairo, was pulled down on Wednesday 19 April, allegedly for suspicion that it would have been used as a church.
The poultry farm is owned by the Copt Gamal Mounir Nasrallah who told Watani that the building was pulled down by a demolition squad dispatched by the local government, building authority, and apparatus for land protection under the pretext of building violations. Mr Nasrallah claims he was not notified of the violations or of the intended demolition.
He insists that the real reason behind the demolition order was nothing but suspicion that the building might have been used as a church. To prove his point, he argues that all the nearby farms and buildings were built and run according to the same rules as his, but none of their owners was charged with violations and none of the buildings, apart from his, was demolished.
“This is what I see as a flagrant infringement on the constitutionally-stipulated equality and citizenship rights of all Egyptians,” argued Mr Nassrallah. He said he would be filing an official complaint to the Interior Minister, Beni Sweif Governor, and Beni Sweif Security Chief, lest it sets a precedent for extremists who wish to oppress Copts.