Instead of convicting the Muslim murder suspects accused of killing 21 Christians in last year’s El-Kosheh massacre, a judge in southern Egypt has accused the local Coptic clergy of responsibility for the three-day rampage.
In his opening statement Feb. 5, presiding Judge Mohammed Affify accused three priests in the predominately Christian Village of failing to put a stop to rioting, which erupted between Dec. 31, 1999, and Jan. 2, 2000. The Sohag court acquitted all but four of the 96 suspects in the El-Kosheh trial, including seven defendants who had eluded arrest. A total of 57 Muslims were being tried, 38 of them for murder.
The most serious charges against the 32 Christian defendants were looting, arson and attempted murder. Coptic Bishop Wissa of nearby Baliana village denounced the blanket acquittal of all the murder suspects as an open incitement to more killings and injustice. (CD)
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