The Qena Criminal Court on Tuesday postponed its ruling in the case of a Coptic man accused of raping a local Muslim girl, according to judicial sources.
The Egyptian government had blamed the incident for much of the sectarian violence that erupted in Upper Egypt within the last two years.
Egyptian police arrested George Barome, 21, in November 2009 on charges of raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl in the village of Farshout in the Qena Governorate, located some 600km south of Cairo.
Following the incident, angry Muslim residents had destroyed dozens of Christian-owned shops.
The Egyptian Ministry of Interior had also suggested that the incident may have been a factor in the killing of six Christians and a Muslim guard in the city of Naga Hammadi following Orthodox Christmas celebrations on 6 January, 2009. Naga Hammadi is located near Farshout.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
