Pope Shenouda has ended his retreat from public life and will attend President Hosni Mubarak's speech before the People's Assembly Sunday, a church source said. The pope's retreat followed the arrest of Copts involved in al-Omraneyya protests. Last month, two persons were killed and dozens injured when police and Coptic demonstrators clashed over the construction of a church in the poor neighborhood south of Cairo, which is densely populated by Christians. The church source, who asked to remain anonymous, praised the Attorney General's recent decision to release 70 detainees from the Coptic church protests in al-Omraneyya. The church is waiting for political leadership to address its demands to end the oppression of Copts, the source said. In Qena the State Security Emergency Court will hear the defense arguments in the Naga' Hammadi case Saturday. Church lawyer Ramses al-Naggar says he anticipates the court will issue a ruling in a private session after all parties have presented their arguments. Al-Naggar said the sentence will be painful for families of the seven victims who have waited almost a year to see the case closed. Bishop Kirollos of Naga' Hammadi predicted the announcement of the sentence would be delayed. Meanwhile, National Council for Human Rights Vice President Muqbil Shaker has come under fire for telling Freedom House there is no discrimination between Christians and Muslims in Egypt. Egyptian Union for Human Rights leader Naguib Gobraiel criticized Shaker, saying local and international institutions have observed violations against Copts in Egypt and that dozens of Copts are still in prison because of the al-Omraneyya incidents. Gobraiel also condemned Shaker's description of the recent parliamentary elections as legal. According to him, Freedom House has access to documented evidence from several sources that the elections were rigged as well as evidence of human rights violations against Copts. Pope Shenouda has cast his vote in the elections for an opposition Wafd candidate, unlike previous prevalent support of the church to the ruling National Democratic Party. Gobraiel has previously confirmed to Al-Masry Al-Youm that the ruling party's reluctance to field a considerable number of Coptic candidates, coupled with violent clashes erupting in southern Cairo, must be the driving force behind Pope Shenouda's III decision to refrain from backing the ruling party.
