Wave of Kidnappings Rock Upper Egypt’s Christian Community – Part 2
By Sandra Elliot – International Christian Concern
May 26, 2016
The following is the second of six accounts from Christian women and girls who were affected by this vicious phenomenon during the last two months.
Noura Youssef was last with her husband as they ate lunch together on April 20, 2016, just a few hours before her abduction in Luxor, Egypt.
“After my wife had had lunch with me, she went to her parents’ home,” Amgad Romany, age 25, explained to ICC. “It was 3:30 p.m. when she left our home.”
Having worked a long day in construction, Amgad took an afternoon nap after his wife headed out.
“After I woke up, I tried to call my wife many times but her mobile [phone] was shut off. I then called my father-in-law asking about her,” Amgad continued. “I was surprised when he told me that she never arrived.”
Amgad, along with Noura’s parents, immediately set out to the streets in search of her. When they couldn’t find her, they went to the police station in Luxor to file a missing person’s report. The authorities at the station refused to file any report until she had been missing for 24 hours, turning away the family.
Upon returning home, Amgad was told by a neighbor that a Muslim man by the name of Moustafa Sayed, was seen following Noura as she had left the house that afternoon. Additionally, Sayed had a history of harassing Noura and repeatedly proposing to her although she was already married.
Sayed has also not been seen since Noura’s disappearance.
On April 21, Amgad returned to the police station with the new information and attempted to file a formal report and charge. Though the police authorized the missing person’s report, they refused to include Sayed’s name in it, much to Amgad’s distress.
“None of the police have helped me to find my wife,” Amgad explained. “None of them have come to my home to ask me or my neighbors questions; they are not investigating. I know that they do nothing for our cases because we are Christians…I don’t know where to go…”
Noura has been missing for over a month now and she is not the only one.
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Wave of Kidnappings Rock Upper Egypt’s Christian Community – Part 2