Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (ANS) -- A lawyer for the Two Saints Church in Alexandria has accused the military council of ignoring the church bombing case.
 |
Blood covered mural outside Two Saints Church in Alexandria |
AINA reported that Joseph Malak, lead lawyer for the case, said the Coptic Church intends to file a lawsuit against the President of the Council of Ministers, the Interior Minister, and the Attorney General.
The suit is intended to compel them to re-open the investigation into the bombing, pointing out that a large number of affidavits, with the participation of a number of families of the victims, have been sent to the attorney general and the military council, without any reply.
According to AINA, Malak made these statements at a conference held by the Egyptian Center for Development Studies and Human Rights on July 24 at the Church of St. Mark in Alexandria. The conference was attended by the media, Alexandria priests, members of the Coptic Confessional Council in Alexandria and family members of the victims.
"We will demand the Attorney General to take determined action to complete the investigation into the case and to speed up detection of the perpetrators and bring them to trial," Malak said. AINA reported he explained this would include questioning former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adli, and the disclosure of the reasons for the release of the suspects who were arrested after the bombing.
AINA said he added that the lawsuit will also ask for the cancellation of the prohibition of publication of the bombing incident imposed by the attorney general in January, which is still in effect. It also obligates the Ministers of Interior and Justice to complete investigations and sentencing as soon as possible.
AINA said Father Makkar Fawzi, Pastor of the Two Saints Church, asked the media to press the issue, saying "You are our last resort; we have talked with many officials without any answer."
He added the State is fully responsible to search for the perpetrators, and the issue should not be ignored.
Rev. Abraham Emil, Deputy Pontifical for Alexandria and the priest of the Church of St. Mark, said the security and intelligence services are able to find the offenders.
AINA said he rejected the ongoing silence about the case, and called for the need to give the injured and the families of the victims their rights as Egyptians, and the state to be held responsible for the care of their families financially and socially.
"They have same rights as victims of the Revolution," he added.
AINA said Camil Saddik, Secretary of the Coptic Confessional Council in Alexandria, said it was not acceptable for the State to abandon the rights of the Copts killed during worship at church, stressing that their demands for revealing the real perpetrators is the least the victims deserve. He said the way the government is evading its responsibilities is a "stigma."
AINA said Saddik speculated on whether they was a connection between the bombing of the Two Saints Church and the threats issued to the Coptic Church eight hours before, demanding the release of detainees held by the Church.
AINA reported Coptic activist Edward Fahmy said, "Saddik is voicing what the majority of Copts believe, that the Salafists in collaboration with State Security carried out the bombings of the Alexandria Church."
Tamer Salah al-Din, one of the organizers of the conference, accused the Egyptian State Security of complicity in the bombing and spoke of their role in causing sedentary strife between Muslims and Christians.
AINA said he added that suspicions about the involvement of the State Security have risen after revelations that officers and security personnel who were assigned to protect the church at the time were not at their posts at the time of the bombing.
| Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity. |
No comments:
Post a Comment