A group of Copts who had been visiting the monastery of Abu-Fana last Monday were attacked by a Muslims from the nearby village of Qasr Hur. They were beaten and robbed, and the women were molested as the microbus they boarded was stopped while it crossed the village. When the Copts resisted the attack the Muslims assaulted them with sticks, iron beams and metal chains. Samir Hanna Girgis, 43, suffered an injury in the ear; Mary Kamal Daoud, 18, cuts in her head and arms; her brother Daoud Kamal Daoud injuries and bruises in the back; and Sherif Reda Girgis, 17, suffered a three centimetre long cut in the head. A golden pendant and a cell phone were stolen.
The police caught four young men and charged them with beating and molesting the victims, but two were later released by the prosecution. The other two, Mohamed Abdel-Salam and Mohamed Saber Ismail, both 16, are also expected to be released since both are juveniles. In cases of sectarian violence the police more often than not make random arrests or catch juveniles who are then, predictably, released since they are either under-age or their arrest lacks incriminating evidence. The real culprits are almost never caught.
The fourth century monastery of Abu-Fana lies 30km west of Mallawi in Upper Egypt, some 260km south of Cairo, and has been the target of repeated attacks by the so-called “Arabs”—the tribal communities living in Egypt’s deserts—who inhabit the desert around AbuFana and the town of Qasr Hur. The last major attack took place on the evening of 31 May 2008. The monastery lands, small agri-projects, church, and cells were torched and plundered. The monks were attacked; four were abducted, savagely tortured, then cast on the desert track between life and death where they were later found. Visitors to the monastery are routinely harassed and abused by Qasr Hur residents.
The police never caught a single culprit.