ICC Note: A Christian man in southern Egypt was gunned down by relatives of men accused of killing four Christians in July, 2013. The family of the victim believes that this latest attack came because of the families refusal to drop charges against suspected killers from 2013. Police have detained one of two men suspected in the January 13, 2015 killing, the other is still at large.
01/17/2015 Egypt (Morning Star News) Police in Upper Egypt have arrested a man who, according to eyewitnesses, gunned down a Christian on Tuesday (Jan. 13) for what family members believe was their refusal to drop charges against the suspect’s relatives in other religiously motivated killings in 2013.
Hasan Baghdadi was arrested on Wednesday (Jan. 14) in connection with the slaying of 38-year-old Shaheed Nesemis Saroufeem – a cousin of a Christian who was killed along with three other Copts in July 2013.
Witnesses say Baghdadi and his brother, Mohamed Baghdadi, were following Saroufeem, a bus driver in Luxor Province who was on a motor scooter at the time of the attack, back from a trip to a flour mill when they ambushed him with a machinegun fire from their motorcycle. The Baghdadi brothers are related to at least one of those accused in the 2013 killing.
Saroufeem was shot to death a day after a hearing in the trial of Baghdadi’s relatives for the 2013 murders. Returning home to Al Dabaya after grinding flour to make bread for his family, Saroufeem was hit nine times and fell to the ground. He died instantly, witnesses said.
“These people shot him and then people started screaming, ‘Shaheed is dead,’” said an eyewitness, a Christian who didn’t want his name released.
Police are still seeking the second brother, whom local Copts said is an Islamist who regularly incites violence against Christians in the area.
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