Egypt: Muslim extremists acquitted of stripping, attacking 70-year-old Christian woman

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Three radicalized Egyptian Muslim men who were caught on camera attacking and stripping naked a 70-year-old Coptic Christian grandmother in 2016 have had their former acquittals upheld by Egypt’s highest court of appeals, Coptic Solidarity (CS) reports.

Now 76, Coptic Christian Soad Thabet was attacked during a raid by a mob of Muslim men on her home in a village of al-Karm, Minya governorate, CS reports. The men were reportedly enraged that Ms. Thabet’s son was romantically involved with a Muslim girl: “Islam assumes the man is superior and that non-Muslims must never have authority over Muslims. Non-Muslim men may, therefore, never court or marry Muslim women, although Muslim men may court and marry non-Muslim women,” Raymond Ibrahim of the Gatestone Institute explained in a statement to Coptic Solidarity.

“Some 300 Muslim men descended on the Christian woman’s home, stripped her naked, and then beat, spat on and dragged her through the streets by the hair — to jeers, whistles, and triumphant shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar,’” Ibrahim said.

Ms. Thabet reported the matter to the police, and the case was processed through the courts, CS said. However, despite the availability of video evidence and eyewitness accounts, Ms. Thabet was unable to receive justice through the appeals system. “From the very first court hearing in 2016 until the present, Egyptian courts appear to be doing everything possible to exonerate the perpetrators: they continuously acquitted the three men, tried to close the case, delayed and postponed hearings, and judges even recused themselves,” Ibrahim attested.

Eventually, on January 9, 2023, Egypt’s Court of Cassation acquitted the men with no further appeals allowed.

Egypt ranks 35th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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