Minya prosecution has ordered the detention of 18 Muslim men four days pending investigation in the attack against the Copts of the village of al-Sheikh Njeim in Toh, Minya, some 250km south of Cairo, on 15 September 2017. The men were charged with rioting, injuring Copts, and causing damages to two Coptic-owned shops and a number of vehicles also owned by Copts, in what has become known as the Facebook sedition.
The prosecution ordered the arrest of the two Coptic men: Bassem Abdel-Malak Fahim, and Mina Younan Samuel, who posted on their Facebook pages photos of Sheikh Muhammad Hassaan and other prominent Salafi figures, with remarks that were seen by conservative Muslims as offensive. This triggered the attack by the village Muslims against the Copts. Initially, the police caught some 100 rioters, but detained eight pending investigation and released the others.
Watani International
17 September 2017