an elderly church leader, a human rights group investigating the plight of persecuted believers reported Thursday May 6.
The U.K.-Base Barnabas Fund, said the five Christians were driven to the water after being arrested in the early hours of Sunday, May 2, in the village of Taha El Omadeen in the El Minia region for the alleged "unlawful construction of a church fence".
It said that 64-year old Father Ibrahim Mikhaeil and four other Christians tries to quickly repair part of the fence which had collapsed during a recent storm, amid fears that local officials would halt its rebuilding.
OBSTRUCTION
"Obstruction and the refusal to grant permits for church repairs is a recurring problem in Egypt," Barnabas Fund claimed. After a Muslim villager reported the repairs to the police officer Ahmed Kelani went to the church at 1 a.m. where he reportedly arrested the men and later placed them in the back of a rented vehicle.
"Officer Kelani ordered the vehicle’s driver to get out and took control of the truck himself. As the vehicle approached the brink of the Ibrahimiya Canal, Kelani jumped out ," the organization said. Mikhaeil and two other Christians (Mahrous and Nasef) apparently drowned while the other two Christians are said to remain in a critical condition in a hospital.
NEW QUESTIONS
The latest incident has raised new questions about alleged abuse of Christians by local police officers. Barnabas Fund sad "the shocking news of these killings has caused an uproar among the local Christian community. The Egyptian media have reported the event as an accident but Christian sources confirm that it was deliberately arranged".
Barnabas Fund has urged Christians around the world to "pray for the families of the three men who were killed, and for the recovery of the two who are seriously injured." It also asked its supporters to pray "that the Egyptian authorities would investigate and condemn any such atrocities carried out against Christians by local police officers".
There is increasing concern among different human rights groups about a rise in Muslim extremism in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, which includes attacks against Christians, who militants have often linked to the United States-led war on terror.
