Coptic Church Urges Probe into Latest 'Trend' in Copts’ Killings due to Claims of Romantic Relationships with Muslim Girls!!!!

Bishop Markos stressed the importance of studying these cases, which took place during the same week, to discover whether these incidents are individual cases or part of a systematic trend to kill Copts.

This decision was taken following the discovery of a second corpse of a Coptic man in the canal in a village adjacent to the village of Dmas, Meet-Ghamr.

"The issue is not a matter only for the security authorities, but has political and social dimensions, which may affect the safety of the nation, if it is discovered that there are organized plans seeking to strike at the Christian-Islamic relations" commented the Bishop.

In the first incident in the village of "Dmas" Meet-Ghamr the 25-year-old Copt Shihata Sabri, was surprised by the Muslim Yasser Ahmed Qasim, and his friend, accusing him of harassing his sister. He poured a gasoline canister over him and set him on fire, as bystanders looked on in horror.

The burning man threw himself into the adjacent canal to try to put out the flames from his burning body. However, he died of his burns.

It is worth noting that numerous people joined in the planning, abduction, torture and murdering of the coptic man found in the canal in the village of Kafr Naim, Meet-Ghamr.

The corpse of 28-year-old Copt Wagih Maurice Barzi, who was absent from home for 15 days, was found in the Nile, tied after being tortured.

It was only through the tracking of the victim’s stolen mobile phone that the police arrived at identifying the culprits.

The main defendant, who was a friend of the victim, owns a supermarket, and posed as a police officer, in the town of Benha, is still on the run.

Two supermarket workers were arrested and confessed to having detained and tortured the Coptic victim for 9 days, in empathy with the supermarket owner, who claimed that the victim was harassing his sister against her will. They also said that a Muslim girl was used as bait to lure the Copt to a place where 7 other men abducted him.

The last murder in Kafr Naim was the fourth killing of Copts in five months due to suspicion of a romantic relationship with Muslim girls.

The two incidents which happened during the same week in two villages, only a few miles apart from each other, alleging that Coptic men were harassing Muslim girls, resulted in two heinous crime.

Church leaders are wondering: individual cases or systematic organized plans for the killing of Coptic men??????

Translated into English by Voice of the Copts