SOHAG, Egypt, Feb. 5, 01 (CWNews.com) - An Egyptian court on Monday convicted four of 96 defendants on trial for Muslim-Christian clashes last year, but none were convicted of the strongest charge of murder.
Twenty-one people, nearly all of them Christians, died in the violence that erupted Jan. 2, 2000, a few days after an argument between a Muslim customer and a Coptic Christian shopkeeper in el-Kusheh, 275 miles south of Cairo. The fighting spread to the neighboring village of Dar el-Salam.
Fifty-seven Muslims were put on trial, 38 of them for murder, while the remainder of the defendants were Christians, most of them charged with looting, arson, or attempted murder. Charges were dismissed against 89 people in December with the presiding judge ordering the eldest Muslim and Christian defendants to shake hands. The two men hugged, causing the courtroom to erupt in cheers.
On Monday, Mayez Amin Abdel-Rahim was convicted of accidental homicide and illegal possession of a weapon and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, the harshest penalty issued Monday. Mohammed Fawzi Shabib was sentenced to two years in prison for accidental homicide. Two others were sentenced to a year in jail for damaging a car. Seven tried in absentia were among those acquitted.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
5. februar 2001