Egyptian security Sunday released all detainees who were arrested following a Coptic Christmas Eve drive-by shooting that killed six Copts and a Muslim policeman in the Upper Egyptian city of Naga Hammadi. "Around 29 detainees in Naga Hammadi, who had been jailed under administrative decrees from the Interior Ministry, were released today on the occasion of the Easter," a security official said Sunday. He added that the release decision had a human nature about it, 'to let the detainees spend the Easter with their families'. Magdi Ayyoub, the Governor of Qena, said the release of 13 Copts and 16 Muslims on the Easter was a bid to heal the repercussions of the Christmas Eve shootings. Seven people were killed on January 6 in a drive-by shooting outside a church in Naga Hammadi, an Egyptian town about 450km south of Cairo. Three men opened fire on a crowd of worshipers leaving the Virgin Mary church after a mass marking the eve of Coptic Christmas. The men opened fire with machine guns, according to the Interior Ministry, and then sped away. They were later arrested and they are currently standing trial at a State emergency court. They plead not guilty. Copts make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population.
