Egyptians accused in killings outside Coptic church plead not guilty

Egypt: Coptic killing suspects plead not guilty

CAIRO — Three Egyptian Muslim men accused in a drive-by shooting that killed seven people outside a Coptic church pleaded not guilty on Saturday, a judicial official said.

Egypt’s prosecutor general has charged the three with murder and threatening national security in the Jan. 6 attack on Coptic Christmas Eve in the southern town of Nag Hamadi.

The shooting shocked Egypt’s Coptic minority and underscored the government’s failure to address chronic sectarian strains in a society where religious radicalism is gaining ground. Six members of the ancient community and a Muslim guard were killed while nine other people were wounded.

President Hosni Mubarak promised a quick trial for the suspects following nationwide protests by Egyptian Christians demanding better police protection.

The three suspects denied all charges as the trial, which is being conducted by a state emergency court, opened Saturday, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

“Police know that I am innocent and who the real perpetrators are,” the official quoted Hammam al-Qomy, the main suspect in the killing, as telling the judge.

The trial was held in the city of Qena, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Nag Hamadi, a mixed Christian-Muslim town with a history of religious tension. It was then adjourned until March 20.

State emergency courts normally handle cases involving terrorism.

Police have said the three suspects, including al-Qomy, Oreshi Abul Hagag and Hindawi Sayed Hassan, have previous criminal records.

Many Copts say police have been lax in pursuing Muslim fundamentalists who incite attacks against their community.

Christians, mostly Orthodox Copts, account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s predominantly Muslim population of some 80 million people. They generally live in peace with Muslims although clashes and tensions occasionally occur, particularly in southern Egypt, mostly over land or church construction disputes.