In the wake of the attack against the Copts of the Upper Egyptian village of Beni-Ahmed in Minya last Monday, Minya prosecution ordered the detention pending investigation of eight Christians,
including Abanoub Farouq and Mina Fawzy who are 12 years old, and 14 Muslims on Tuesday. This in addition to four who were detained on Saturday, also pending investigation, following the first attack against Beni-Ahmed Copts that day.
Today, the two teenagers were released. Another 44 men, 17 Christians and 27 Muslims, are wanted by the prosecution but are currently in hiding.
The lawyer Ibrahim Edward criticised the policy of “balancing accounts” used by the prosecution, in which Copts are prosecuted simply so that Muslims alone would not be prosecuted. Mr Edward said that the Copts were attacked inside their homes by armed men who noisily declared their intention of killing the Copts and ruining their livelihoods. Many Copts were injured in the process, and lost homes, shops and vehicles, Edward said. “So now they are the culprits?!”
The Beni-Ahmed attack left seven houses, 24 shops, and nine vehicles—all Coptic-owned—ruined and burnt.
Watani International
7 August 2013