10/25/2018 Egypt (International Christian Concern) – This past December, ICC reported on a mob attack in an Egyptian village of Kafr El-Waselin. The mob was protesting a service building used by St. Tadros Church. On October 15, a Giza court acquitted all 20 defendants.
One of the defendants was Coptic Christian Eid Attiya, who had been charged with erecting a building without a license. He was previously sentenced in January to one year in prison and a fine of 360,000 EGP (roughly $20,000). The other 19 defendants were Muslims who had participated in the mob attack. While all 20 defendants have been acquitted, the legal reasoning behind the ruling has not been disclosed.
Mob attacks against churches are a common occurrence in Egypt. They are often sparked by fears that the church might gain an officially recognized presence in the village. Because the process of gaining official legalization is heavily bureaucratic and slow, thousands of churches exist in Egypt without the necessary paperwork. Egypt passed a law in 2016 which purported to streamline the process, but any improvements have come at an extremely slow pace.
For interviews with Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.
