CAIRO: The Emergency State Security Criminal Court in Qena adjourned on Saturday the trial of the Nagaa Hammadi drive-by shooting suspects to October 17. The trial was postponed so that Bishop Kirollos, who heads the church in the area, and Colonel Abdel Hameed Al-Alaki, chief of Nagaa Hammadi police station, can give their testimonies, reported Al-Masry Al-Youm. The shooting, which took place after Christmas midnight mass on Jan. 7, left six Copts and a Muslim guard dead. The trial has been postponed several times. On Friday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) — a religious freedom watchdog — commented on the case: “Justice delayed is justice denied,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo, in a press statement. “Is it possible for Coptic Orthodox Christians to get justice in the Egyptian court system?” he asked. Leo pointed out that even though the Egyptian government initially decided to bring the Nagaa Hammadi case to trial quickly, eight months later, no convictions have been made. “Unfortunately, this only encourages further violence and is reminiscent of so many past trials where justice was never served,” he added.
