WATANI International
21 February 2010
Qena criminal court last Wednesday adjourned to 24 March the trial of Girgis Baroumi Girgis, the 21-year-old Coptic man from the village of al-Koum al-Ahmar accused of sexually assaulting the Muslim Yusra Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, 12, from the village of Shuqeiqi, last November. Both villages lie in the vicinity of Farshout in Nag Hammadi, Qena, Upper Egypt. The alleged rape led to the violent November attack against the Copts of Farshout, resulting in EGP4.6 million in losses.
Girgis was arrested since last November, but was only charged following the Nag Hammadi Christmas Eve shootout in front of the Mar Youhanna church, which left six Copts and one Muslim dead.
The trial was adjourned for the court to proceed with questioning the victim and witnesses and to receive the medical reports concerning the alleged crime.
The defence lawyer Peter al-Naggar said he submitted to the court a filming of the site of the alleged crime, which is a public roadway that is usually busy with passers-by especially at midday, the time the crime is claimed to have taken place.
The alleged rape has been used by the Egyptian security officials, politicians, and some in the media to justify the Nag Hammadi crime, branding it as a vendetta to avenge the Muslim girl.