Verdict in Egyptian Copt killings trial expected mid-January

ICC Note:

On January 16, an Egyptian court is scheduled to announce the verdict of three men charged with murdering Coptic Christians in Naga Hammadi on Christmas Eve.

12/19/2010 Egypt (M&C) – An Egyptian court is expected to hand down its verdict against three men charged with shooting Coptic Christians outside a church in the south of the country on January 16, a judicial source said Sunday.

Gunmen opened fire on parishioners leaving a Coptic Christmas Eve mass in January this year in Nagaa Hamadi town, 650 kilometres south of Cairo. Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7.

The attack left eight Christians and one Muslim policeman guarding the church dead.

Three Muslim men were charged with premeditated murder, harming public security, the use of force and violence, and endangering the lives of citizens.

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