Chancellor Hamdy Farouk, Attorney General of Beni Suef Prosecutions, decided yesterday to detain 16 Muslims and Christians for four days pending the investigations being conducted by the Prosecution into the events that took place in Ezbat el-Guirguis (el-Fashn province). Meanwhile, the relatives of 19 Muslims being detained, after one of them was killed in the region of Kafr el-Barbari (Meit el-Qureishi village, Governorate of Dakahlia), called for the release of their loved ones as a first step to be reconciled with the Christians. In Dakahlia, the detainees' lawyer Walid Rifaat said the security services did not let the relatives visit their loved ones. Yet, he said they had been given permissions by the Prosecution 15 days after their arrest as a precautionary measure. Meit Ghamar, Dakadous and eastern provinces Bishop Salib el-Naqlouni said what happened was an isolated incident – and not a case of sectarian strife – which ran contrary to Christ's teachings. Damietta, Kafr el-Sheikh and el-Barari Bishop Bishoy, Secretary of the Holy Synod, described the incident in the same way and added this was just a dispute between friends that turned into a brawl. During the investigations, held by Meit Ghamr Prosecution yesterday, witnesses said that the Christian grocer's sons stabbed Mohammed Ramadan Ezzat six times in a row in different parts of his body and that they took the knife from the shop. They also said this took place after they brawled with him because of the deposit left for a bottle of mineral water. In Beni Suef, el-Fashn Prosecution charged 16 people, seven of whom Muslims, with sparking riots, disturbing the public opinion, damaging and burning crops, and trying to damage a bus of Ezbat's church. The Governor, Dr. Ezzat Abdallah, received a report on the incident from Brigadier General Ahmed Attiya, chairman of the local unit of el-Fashn province and city. Baba, el-Samta and el-Fashn Bishop Estaphanos said that the two places of worship in Ezbat Eel-Guirguis are not large enough for the 280 Christian families living there. He pointed out that the first place is a 30 m2 room with a wooden roof, while the second measures 80 m2. He also indicated that the nearest church is seven kilometers away from the village.
