Hundreds of Coptic Christians including many priests continued their protest in the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasiya to try to persuade police to mount a search for Kamilia Shahata Zakher, 25. Zakher, wife of Bishop Tedaous Samaan Rezq, Pastor of Minya's Dayr Mawwas Monastery disappeared last Sunday. Although police say that preliminary investigations have ruled out the possibility of kidnapping, Resk repeated his calls to the authorities to search for his wife. He is currently staying at the cathedral and his son Anthon is being looked after by his grandfather. Tharwat Bassily, undersecretary of the Holy Synod, dismissed rumors that Father Youanis, secretary to Pope Shenouda III, has returned from the US to deal with the problem. Bassily said the Pope and the bishop in his entourage are monitoring developments from the US. Eid Labib, Shura Council member for Dayr Mawwas and Mallawi, visited the protesters yesterday and promised to intervene to end the crisis. The headmaster of Bani Salem Preparatory School—where Zakher worked—said she booked a 15-day vacation and took all her financial entitlements before she disappeared on Sunday afternoon. The head of the local Post office said Zakher withdrew LE43,000 from her account before she went missing. Translated from the Arabic Edition
