Earlier reports document the same travesties against Egypt’s Christians, and in different regions, including villages near Alexandria, Minia, Asyut, and Sohag. The human rights report adds that those who are sent to collect ransom monies from the Christians families are often known and connected to some of the larger families of Nag Hammadi, and some are even known to the police, who, as usual, look the other way.
Meanwhile, a cursory search of the Internet in Arabic exposes any number of separate case reports of Copts being abducted and held for ransom. For instance, here is a Masr11 report from last month about how armed assailants abducted a young Christian doctor, a pediatrician, as he was going to his clinic, and demanded 100,000 Egyptian pounds from his family for his release. The report adds, “Gangs of armed kidnappers have become more active since the January 25 revolution.”