On 16 January 2019, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli issued a decision that, under the current state of emergency in Egypt, trials in cases that bear upon national security should be seen before the emergency State security courts. The decision cites the charges that qualify for such a measure, and this includes mobbing, terrorising civilians, and acts of thuggery—charges commonly directed at attackers of Copts. A common comment by Copts on social media, however, was that it remains to be seen how the PM’s decision would be implemented on the ground.
The most recent attack against Copts took place on Friday 11 January in the village of Manshiyet Zaafarana in Minya, some 250km south of Cairo. The police succeeded inn bringing calm to the village, but at the price of appeasing the attackers and closing the only church in the village.
For full story:
Watani International
17 January 2019