ICC Note: On April 5th, a 13 year old Christian boy was kidnapped outside his school in Upper Egypt after kidnappers identified his Christian name. This is not an isolated case as there have been over 70 such cases in the past few years. Shortly after being taken, the family received a call from the criminals demanding the equivalent of $225,000 USD. The teenager was safely returned to his family two weeks later after a hefty ransom was paid on his behalf. The police did not help.

04/22/2016 Egypt (World Watch Monitor) – Earlier this month, a young Christian boy was kidnapped in Upper Egypt, before being released 12 days later after the payment of a hefty ransom.

Anthonius Farag, 13, was snatched outside his school early in the morning on April 5, in the village of Mansheyyit Manbal, off Matay (230 km south of Cairo). His kidnappers released a Muslim child after identifying his religion by his name, but sped away with the Christian boy.

The latest case is not isolated. According to the Coalition of Coptic Egypt (CCE), a Coptic advocacy group, the Upper Egyptian province of Qena alone saw no less than 72 cases of kidnappings, extortion and related violence against Copts in the period from 2011 to 2014, the most recent figures it has. Those targeted for kidnapping ranged from children to the elderly.

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Mansheyyit Manbal is a predominantly Christian town of 12,000 inhabitants. Many of the inhabitants have relatives working overseas, hence the impression among nearby villages that it is a ‘rich’ Christian town.

“My son, Kyrellos, was standing with both fellow pupils Anthonius and Mohamed when one of the kidnappers approached them,” a Christian parent, Eid Yonan, said.

“[The kidnapper] inquired about their names. They let go of Mohamed, but gripped hold of Kyrellos and Anthonius.” Both names are clearly identifiable as Christian.

“My son managed to escape, while other boys started screaming. One of the kidnappers shot rounds in the air to disperse the crowd, as the others quickly pushed Anthonius into the car and fled,” added Yonan.

Shortly after, the kidnapped boy’s father, Nawwar Farag, alerted the police about what happened at the school, which serves students from the town beside other students from nearby villages.

Three days after the kidnapping, Farag received a call demanding a ransom of two million Egyptian Pounds (EGP) – over 225,000 USD – in return for his son. Farag had little trust in police assurances that they had the kidnappers’ phone tapped.

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