Prosecutor questions Coptic priests over church demolition Protest

Sami Abdel Radi
23/11/2010

The Egyptian Public Prosecutor has summoned five priests for questioning following a Coptic demonstration on Monday evening over a demolition order for a church built without a permit. Hundreds of protestors blocked a highway in the Umraniya district during the rally.

The prosecution also summoned the head of the Umraniya police department and requested the government investigator’s findings surrounding the incident.

Investigations by the Umraniya prosecution and government officials revealed the building in question was licensed as a Coptic Orthodox Diocese in Giza human services complex and that construction workers had illegally converted it into a church.

The prosecution also questioned the district engineer who reported the violation and confirmed the investigator’s findings.

The engineer said an infringement notice had been sent to the construction workers but they refused to comply with the notice and organized the protest instead.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

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