Bishop Gives Security Authorities Two Options: Return the Missing Girl or Face Demonstrations

Bishop Gives Security Authorities Two Options: Return the Missing Girl or Face Demonstrations

By | 2009-01-28T05:59:00-04:00 January 28th, 2009|News|0 Comments

Police Promised To Return Handicapped Coptic Girl Within 24 Hours

Bishop Anba Kirillos of Naga Hamadi threatened the police that if they cannot find the abducted girl, Marian Luka, he will lead a silent demonstration inside the Naga Hammadi archbishopric ; Anba Kirillos did not state how much time he has given the police prior to the implementation of his threat. Although the Bishop rejected the suggestions of the girl’s brothers to go on a hunger strike, "I cannot prevent the girl’s family from calling for the return of their daughter. However, nothing is clear yet, and the police promised to return the girl within 24 hours, but nothing happened until now", he added.

The state of sectarian tension has engulfed the town of Naga Hammadi,Upper Egypt, since Tuesday morning, due to the disappearance of a young Coptic girl, Mariam Luka (22 years), who suffers multiple physical and mental disabilities. The girl’s family accused the married Muslim man, Ibrahim Abdel-Hadi (42 years) of abducting her.

A large numbers of Copts rallied in front of the archbishopric of Naga Hammadi, and chanted, demanding the return of the girl, and the accused man to be brough to justice for abducting her.

Botros Luka, one of the four brothers of the missing girl, said that his younger sister Mariam, had gone out to go to church on Sunday morning, but failed to return home. They looked for her everywhere in vain, and found out that she had taken all her jewelry with her.

He described his sister as suffering from a heart disease, half-paralyzed, mentally retarded, undergoing psychiatric treatment, and walks on crutches, following a stroke and a heart valve disease.

As to the reason of the family’s accusal of Ibrahim Abdel Hadi of abducting his sister, he reiterated that the latter had rented an apartment in the city of Qena,for some time, and fled after they went there looking for him.

The brother did not refer to the direct relationship of the Muslim man with his missing sister or her family. He complained bitterly of police negligence concerning the case of his sister.

source: Al-Yom Al-Sabe’ Egyptian newspaper

1/27/2009