Egypt Executes Killer Of Coptic Priest

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

CAIRO (Worthy News) – Egyptian authorities have executed the man convicted of murdering a Coptic Orthodox priest, bringing to a close a case that shocked Egypt’s Christian community more than four years after the fatal attack, Worthy News learned Tuesday

The execution of Nehru Abdel-Moneim Tawfiq followed the Egyptian Court of Cassation’s rejection of his final appeal, upholding an earlier death sentence imposed by the Alexandria Criminal Court and making the verdict final under Egyptian law.

Arsanios Wadid Rizqallah, a 56-year-old priest at the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Paul in Alexandria, was fatally stabbed on April 7, 2022, while accompanying parishioners after a church outing on the city’s Mediterranean waterfront. Witnesses said they restrained the attacker and handed him over to police, but the priest later died at a hospital.

ATTACK SHOCKED CHURCH

Prosecutors charged Tawfiq with premeditated murder after investigators concluded he was criminally responsible for the attack despite claims of mental illness.

The Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced him to death in 2022, and the Court of Cassation later upheld the verdict before the sentence was carried out.

The killing drew condemnation from the Coptic Orthodox Church, Muslim leaders and human rights advocates, who described it as a devastating blow to Egypt’s Christian community.

CHRISTIANS REMAIN UNDER PRESSURE

Despite improved security in recent years and government efforts to restore churches damaged in past attacks, Christians in Egypt continue to face discrimination, sectarian violence and occasional deadly assaults, particularly in rural areas, Christians say.

According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, Egypt ranks No. 40 among the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution, with millions of Christians continuing to experience high levels of pressure because of their faith.

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