During the funeral on Saturday mourners chanted, “With our blood and spirit we redeem you, Cross” and “Kyrie Eleison.”
Mourners said Copts in Deir Mawas have suffered greatly from persecution and disparagement by thugs, such as Ali Hussein, known as Holako, and his brothers, who still spread terror and panic in the hearts of Copts.
Copts believe they have become a open target for thugs and bandits due to the state of lawlessness that prevails in the country and the failure of security to deter thugs, making it easy for them to continue to plundering and imposing ransoms on Copts.
Participants called for an immediate investigation into the death of their Coptic victim and for the perpetrators to be punished. This would serve as an example to all who may be tempted to disparage Copts in Deir Mawas in the future.
Nabil Agaiby Zaki, a relative of the victim, said he was shocked by the incident. When he went to see the victim, he found him stabbed in the abdomen. In his last throes, the victim told Zaki that two thugs stabbed him because he refused to pay 50,000 EGP to them as a royalty.
“The victim has a plot of nearly 700 square meters in an urban area together with his three brothers. He has six daughters, the eldest is in the second year of secondary school,” Zaki said
Father Marcos Farag Soweha, priest of St. Mary Church, said that the victim and his family had submitted a number of complaints against the thugs, but the plice had not taken any measures against them.
Fr. Marcos said the accused are well-known in the area, and called upon the Egyptian government to take action and implement justice, protect Coptic citizens, achieve retribution for the slain Copt and compensation for his family.
He added that the criminalization of attacks targeting Copts is necessary. “God is not pleased with injustice. We want to deliver our voices to the Egyptian officials to push them to move,” he added.
Attacks against Copts increased during the recent period, especially in the Qena and Minya areas Upper Egypt.
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Edited from: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=43631