http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=132925&d=14&m=2&y=2010&pix=world.jpg&category=World
Sunday 14 February 2010 (29 Safar 1431)
Egyptians plead not guilty to Copts' killing
Agence France Presse
SEEKING JUSTICE: The relatives of the victims react in court during
the first day of the trial of three men charged with the murder of six Coptic
Christians and a Muslim policeman near Luxor. The trial began on Saturday.
(Reuters)
QENA, Egypt: Three Egyptian Muslims accused of gunning down six Coptic
Christians last month in southern Egypt pleaded not guilty on Saturday at the
start of their trial amid heavy security.
A Muslim policeman was also killed when three gunmen raked worshippers
emerging from services with bullets on the eve of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas
on Jan. 6 in the village of Nagaa Hammadi.
It was the deadliest attack since 2000, when 20 Copts were killed in
sectarian clashes.
Saturday's hearing in an emergency security court in the city of Qena,
capital of the Qena governorate where Nagaa Hammadi is located, was packed with
journalists, lawyers and police, an AFP correspondent said.
The defendants - Mohammed Al-Kammuni, Qorshi Abul Haggag and Hendawi
Sayyed - pleaded "not guilty" as the judge read out the charges against them.
The suspects were arrested after the attack and a Qena prosecutor charged them
with "premeditated murder, putting the life of citizens in danger and damage to
public and private property," a judicial source has said.
The killings sparked outrage among the country's Copts and led to clashes
with police as Nagaa Hammadi residents accused the authorities of refusing to
recognize the attack as sectarian.
International condemnation also poured in after the attack, with the
United States saying the incident showed "an atmosphere of intolerance" in
Egypt and Pope Benedict XVI saying it has "caused indignation among many
people." Egyptian officials have denied a sectarian element in the attack,
insisting it is a purely criminal act and have linked it to the alleged rape of
a Muslim girl by a Coptic man in November.
Copts, who account for nearly 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80
million, are the Middle East's largest Christian community
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