The Assiut township prosecutor has called for a Coptic student accused of publishing offensive images of Prophet Mohamed to be held for 15 days pending investigations.
Muslim residents accused the student of posting the images on his Facebook account.
Violent clashes between Muslims and Christians took place over the weekend in the villages of Baheeg, Adr, Salam and Menqebad. At least six houses owned by Copts were set on fire after the incident was publicized.
Angry villagers and security forces hurled stones at each other, which reportedly led to the injury of seven security officers. They were transferred to the police hospital in Assiut.
The student denied posting the images, claiming that they were shared on his Facebook page without his permission.
Assiut Governor Sayyed al-Borai met with Muslim and Coptic leaders and several elected Islamist MPs to discuss the incident.
They agreed to arrest rioters, that priests should publicly apologize for the images, and that the student as well as his family should move out of the governorate.
Last October, an Egyptian court sentenced a young Coptic man to three years in prison for posting statements on his Facebook account that were thought to be offensive to Islam and Prophet Mohamed.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the governor who met with the Muslim and Coptic leaders.
