Mark of Faith
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- Oct 14, 2007
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The following report was sent to me by Open Doors UK:
Two Coptic Christians in Egypt have been arrested and are being held without charge after reporting to police that they had been beaten by a mob, an attorney for the men said last week.
On 31 July, Reda Hnein, his brother Nagi Hnein Fawzi and their uncle Youssef Fawzi Iskandar, all farmers, were leading a cow down a road in the village of Al-Fashn when two Muslim men riding a motorbike crashed into the cow. An argument ensued, and a mob of about ten other Muslim men joined in the disagreement and began beating the Copts with sticks, said attorney Ihab Ramzi.
Reda Hnein and Iskandar received minor injuries. Fawzi, however, suffered a fractured skull and lacerations to his scalp. He was taken to Minya University Hospital, where he regained consciousness earlier this week, but he remains hospitalised.
On the day of the incident, Reda Hnein and Iskandar went to police to file a complaint. They were told to return the next day to file a report with an investigating attorney. But after they gave their report the next day, local police arrested the two men on orders of Egypt’s State Security Investigations.
The men were not charged with any crime but were told they had been arrested for ‘security reasons’. Reda Hnein and Iskandar are being held at Abu Zabal prison, according to a cousin.
The cousin added that she is ‘boiling’ with anger. “How can they [the police] treat a victim like a criminal?”
This arrest is one in a recent spate of incidents in the area. Earlier this summer, two Copts were arrested for allegedly setting fire to their own house church, despite eyewitness accounts of other men drenching the building with kerosene. On 6 June, Muslim mobs attacked a building in Ezbet Boushra-East because they suspected it would be converted into a Christian worship place. A similar incident took place on 3 July at a building in Ezbet Guirgis Bey.
Source: Compass Direct News
Prayer points:
1. For physical and emotional healing for Fawzi, Reda Hnein and Iskandar as they recover from their ordeal
2. That the police would act justly and that Hnein and Iskandar would be swiftly released
3. For a judicial system in Egypt that will not discriminate against Christians.
Two Coptic Christians in Egypt have been arrested and are being held without charge after reporting to police that they had been beaten by a mob, an attorney for the men said last week.
On 31 July, Reda Hnein, his brother Nagi Hnein Fawzi and their uncle Youssef Fawzi Iskandar, all farmers, were leading a cow down a road in the village of Al-Fashn when two Muslim men riding a motorbike crashed into the cow. An argument ensued, and a mob of about ten other Muslim men joined in the disagreement and began beating the Copts with sticks, said attorney Ihab Ramzi.
Reda Hnein and Iskandar received minor injuries. Fawzi, however, suffered a fractured skull and lacerations to his scalp. He was taken to Minya University Hospital, where he regained consciousness earlier this week, but he remains hospitalised.
On the day of the incident, Reda Hnein and Iskandar went to police to file a complaint. They were told to return the next day to file a report with an investigating attorney. But after they gave their report the next day, local police arrested the two men on orders of Egypt’s State Security Investigations.
The men were not charged with any crime but were told they had been arrested for ‘security reasons’. Reda Hnein and Iskandar are being held at Abu Zabal prison, according to a cousin.
The cousin added that she is ‘boiling’ with anger. “How can they [the police] treat a victim like a criminal?”
This arrest is one in a recent spate of incidents in the area. Earlier this summer, two Copts were arrested for allegedly setting fire to their own house church, despite eyewitness accounts of other men drenching the building with kerosene. On 6 June, Muslim mobs attacked a building in Ezbet Boushra-East because they suspected it would be converted into a Christian worship place. A similar incident took place on 3 July at a building in Ezbet Guirgis Bey.
Source: Compass Direct News
Prayer points:
1. For physical and emotional healing for Fawzi, Reda Hnein and Iskandar as they recover from their ordeal
2. That the police would act justly and that Hnein and Iskandar would be swiftly released
3. For a judicial system in Egypt that will not discriminate against Christians.
