Court sentences 71 to life imprisonment for burning church near Kerdasa

The Giza Criminal Court sentenced 71 individuals to 25 years imprisonment on Wednesday after finding them guilty of torching the Kafr Hakim Church, near the town of Kerdasa. The defendants were said to be supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Presided over by Judge Nagy Shehata, this court also sentenced two minors to 10 years imprisonment on the same charges.

The specific charges against these 73 individuals include affiliation with an illegal group, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, attempted murder, burning a house of worship, and obstructing traffic, along with resisting authorities.

According to the Reuters news agency, 52 of these defendants were sentenced in absentia.

This incident dates back to August 14, 2013, when troops forcefully dispersed two encampments of pro-Morsi protesters in Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda squares, resulting in the deaths of more than 700 people.

In retaliation, police forces and Christians emerged as the target of several attacks at the hands of Morsi supporters.

The Kafr Hakim church was one of dozens torched in a wave of sectarian attacks targeting Christians, their properties, and houses of worship.

According to officials from the Coptic Church, at least 50 churches were targeted in these sectarian attacks following the bloody dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins.

Seeking to distance themselves from these incidents, several Muslim Brotherhood leaders have since issued statements condemning such sectarian attacks.

In local mainstream media outlets, these attacks have been attributed to the Muslim Brotherhood’s terrorism and religious intolerance. Little mention has been made of the Coptic Church’s political alignment with the military establishment against the Brotherhood’s elected representatives.

Coptic Pope Tawadros II has openly supported the ouster of President Morsi, and sided with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The pope delivered a televised address on July 3, 2013 endorsing the military-led takeover of the state, while praising Egypt’s police and armed forces.

Moreover, Pope Tawadros has repeatedly dismissed calls for human rights in Egypt in light of the ongoing crackdowns against the Brotherhood, their Islamist allies, and the state’s "war on terrorism."