AL DABAYA, Egypt — Police in Upper Egypt have arrested a man who, according to eyewitnesses, gunned down a Christian on Jan. 13 for what family members believe was their refusal to drop charges against the suspect’s relatives in other killings in 2013.
Hasan Baghdadi was arrested Jan. 14 in connection with the slaying of 38-year-old Shaheed Nesemis Saroufeem — a cousin of a Christian who was killed along with three other Copts in July 2013.
Witnesses said Baghdadi and his brother, Mohamed Baghdadi, were following Saroufeem, a bus driver in Luxor Province who was on a motor scooter at the time of the attack where they ambushed him with machine-gun fire from their motorcycle.
Saroufeem was shot to death a day after a hearing in the trial of Baghdadi’s relatives for the 2013 murders.
Police are still seeking the second brother whom local Copts said is an Islamist who regularly incites violence against Christians in the area.
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