CAIRO: The Qena Emergency State Security Criminal Court postponed on Sunday the trial of three men accused of killing six Copts and one Muslim guard in a drive-by Christmas shooting to April 18. The shootings, which took place in the Upper Egyptian town of Nagaa Hammadi on Christmas Eve last January, also left nine people wounded, all of whom remain in hospital till this day. The court referred the exhibits from Sunday's trial to the forensics department to match the bullets that were collected at the crime scene with the bullets that were pulled out of the victims' bodies. In the next hearing, the court will listen to the testimonies of the families of both the victims and the wounded. In addition, the chief forensic doctor and Colonel Ahmed Hegazy, who was investigating the case, will testify. The three defendants Mohamed El Kamouny, Qorshi Abu El Haggag Mohamed and Hendawy Mohamed Sayed Hassan appeared in court handcuffed and wearing white prison uniforms signifying suspects whose case is still under investigation. Sunday's hearing saw the lawyers of the three defendants argue over differences in the requests each presented to the court. Osama Abdel Fatah, Hendawy's lawyer, reiterated his desire to bring in Bishop Kirolos, the Nagaa Hammadi Bishop, to testify since he is considered an eyewitness, a request that the two other lawyers continued to reject. In addition, the three argued over the usefulness of hearing the testimonies of the families. Ramsis El-Naggar, the church's lawyer, told Daily News Egypt that the next hearing will be decisive since it will include the testimonies of the families and the chief forensic doctor in addition to matching the bullets. Meanwhile, according to the lawyer for the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights Ishaq Ibrahim, the differences among the defense team are likely to have a negative effect on the outcome of the trial. In a telephone interview with Daily News Egypt, Ishaq said that Sunday's hearing saw less security than the first hearing on Feb. 13.
