Egyptian man sentenced to death for 2010 attack on Christians

Jan 16, 2011, 11:07 GMT

Cairo - An Egyptian court sentenced a man to death on Sunday for a drive-by shooting of Christians in the southern city of Naga Hammadi last year which left seven people dead.

Mohamed Hassan, the primary defendant in the case, was sentenced by a State Security Emergency Criminal court in the southern province of Qena.

The death sentence will be sent to Egypt's grand mufti, an Islamic religious authority, for approval.

The sentence will be confirmed by the court on February 20, when it will also hand out the sentences of the other two defendants in the case, Qurshi Abulhagag and Hendawy Mohamed Hassan.

Mohamed Hassan is charged with opening fire on a group of people as they were leaving a Christmas mass in Naga Hammadi on January 6, 2010, the night of Coptic Christmas eve.

The attack left six Christian teenagers and a Muslim security official dead.

The trial began on February 13 and was postponed numerous times throughout the year, angering the Christian community which was demanding a conviction.

Official figures estimate Christians comprise between ten and 15 per cent of Egypt's population.

Tensions have been high in the country since a New Year's eve bombing at a church in the coastal city of Alexandria left 23 people dead and over 100 injured.

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