WATANI International
12 July 2009
Last Tuesday marked the end to the Abu-Fana dilemma, already well into its 14th month. The evening of 31 May 2008 saw a violent attack by the ‘Arabs’—as the tribal desert dwellers of the desert are termed—against the monks of the 4th century desert monastery of Abu-Fana in Mallawi, Minya, some 250km south of Cairo. The attack left in its wake one Arab, Khalil Mohamed, killed by friendly fire—since the monks possessed no guns—and six seriously injured monks, as well as considerable ruin to the monastery and its utilities. None of the Arabs was charged with the assault. Two Coptic brothers, Rifaat and Ibrahim Fawzy, were accused by Mohamed’s father of having killed his son and were consequently detained, even though they had not been present at the site in the first place. And even though the after-death investigation revealed the brothers to be innocent of the murder charge and the court ordered their release, they were arrested on security grounds and have been since in prison.
The stand-off was broken last Monday evening when the monks and the Arabs headed to the public prosecutor office and declared they wished to change their previous testimonies on the attack, according to an official reconciliation agreement between them. Since Egyptian law recognises such a move, they were allowed to testify anew. Mohamed’s father admitted he could not vouch for sure that it was the Fawzy brothers who had killed his son, and the monks said the Arabs had been masked and it had been too dark a night to identify their attackers.
This brings to a close the criminal case, since no incriminating evidence exists against any particular person. Until Watani went to press, Malawi was preparing to welcome the Fawzy brothers home. Pope Shenouda III sent the brothers a message from Cleveland, Ohio, where he is on medical treatment. He congratulated them, their families and friends, and their lawyers on their release and the end of what he termed an extended painful experience.