Sisi promises swift investigations into Minya sectarian violence as police arrest 10 suspects

Ten people have been arrested in connection with violence that broke out on May 20 in Karm village in Minya Governorate, in which an elderly Coptic Christian woman was assaulted and Christian houses were looted, according to statements issued by the Ministry of Interior on Thursday night.

Hours before the ministry announced the arrests, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a statement promising that the incident would be swiftly investigated.

Seven Coptic Christian homes were looted and destroyed after rumors of a romantic relationship between a Christian man, Ashraf Atteya, and a Muslim woman circulated in the village. According to a statement from the Minya Archbishopric, Atteya’s mother Soad was stripped naked, beaten, and dragged through the streets.

Sisi declared that the vandalized properties would be restored within a month, in his Thursday statement, and that police would carry out a swift investigation to bring those responsible to justice.

"The Egyptian woman will remain an example of sacrifice and preserving her dignity will continue to be a human and national commitment before being a legal and constitutional one," Sisi said in his statement.

Hours after Sisi's statement, the Interior Ministry declared that police attempted to contain the violence once it erupted in the southern village and have now arrested five people, including Nazeer Ishaq Ahmed Abdel Hafez, who they believe initiated the violence. This comes despite Minya Archbishopric’s statement that claimed police ignored the first complaint made by Atteya’s family, threatening Soad and her husband and expelling them from the station.

In another statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Interior stated police arrested five additional people and that all 10 suspects would be referred to the public prosecutor’s office.

Despite statements from Sisi and the Ministry of Interior, Minya Governor Taher Nasr insisted that the assault on Soad is a rumor that was disseminated to abet sectarian violence and harm the country's social fabric.

"When the house was set ablaze, people ran away and maybe the woman ran and she was wearing lingerie, so everyone thought she was stripped naked. But nothing like this happened. I have to tell you that such rumors led to a conflict between the woman and her husband," Nasr said in an interview with the privately owned Sada al-Balad TV channel.

Despite impugning the legitimacy of the woman’s statements, Nasr explained during the interview that there are ongoing customary reconciliation efforts to end the conflict.

However, Minya Bishop Makaryous stated that the archbishopric rejects customary sessions unless the rule of law is strictly implemented.

"[Dealing with the issue] through sweet words has spoiled all [sectarian] cases and has allowed officials to avoid confronting [real problems] and to evade their responsibility. It made every catastrophe an introduction to a bigger catastrophe," Makaryous said in the statement.

While customary reconciliation sessions have been the traditional solution to sectarian and tribal conflict in Upper Egypt, the process has been criticized for rarely failing to implement justice, with the Egyptian state being blamed for not adhering to its role in enforcing Egyptian law.

Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church appointed Bishop Makaryous the church's official representative in the case, according to a statement by the church's official spokesperson.

"This incident may be a chance for state officials to pay attention to this governorate which has witnessed continuous painful events that harm the entire country and Egypt's image in front of the world," Pope Tawadros II added.

The spokesperson’s official page also published an audio recording of a phone call between the Pope and Soad, during which he expressed his support for her. "All state institutions are dealing with the issue seriously and the course of law will be served according to the orders of President Sisi," Pope Tawadros II said in the recording.

During a US State Department press briefing on Thursday, deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said he was not aware of the violence in the Minya Governorate. "Of course, we’re concerned about any interethnic or interreligious violence," Toner said.  

In a statement published on Thursday, the head of the "Bayt al-Aila” (Family House) initiative and Al-Azhar sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb announced that 20 Al-Azhar preachers would go to the village to preach awareness and tolerance in an effort to contain the situation. Composed of church and Al-Azhar officials, the Family House initiative attempts to mediate between Muslims and Christians and has played a role in several recent incidents of sectarian violence.