Cairo’s prosecution heard statements by Priest Agabious of Mawas Monastery in regards to Kamilia Shehata, allegedly detained by the Coptic Church. Naguib Gibrael, Shehata’s lawyer delegated by the Church, attended the investigations.
Gibrael told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the prosecution assured him it did not make any accusations against the Church, but asked the Church to give information about Shehata’s address. Gibrael also added that the prosecution did not investigate Shehata’s conversion to Islam, but asked about only her being detained.
Tighten security was imposed around Abbasseya’s cathedral while Pope Shenouda III, Egyptian Copts’ leader, was giving his weekly sermon on Wednesday, for fear that Al-Qaeda terrorists could target churches in Egypt. Al-Qaeda, suspected of bombing Alexandria’s Qiddissine church, had threatened to bomb churches in Cairo and Alexandria in late 2010.
Shehata disappeared for five days in July. Coptic activists staged protests across Egypt, accusing Muslims of kidnapping her and forcing her to convert. But she was later found at a friend's house and reportedly had left home willingly after a conflict with her husband. The Coptic Church has denied that Shehata converted to Islam at all.
Since then, protests staged by Muslims at a number of mosques have called for Shehata's release. Many claim the church is holding her in a monastery against her will.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
