Sharp questions have flared up concerning the independence of the Egyptian judicial system after the Criminal Court of Sohag sentenced only two of 95 defendants on February 27 in a retrial for the deaths of 21 Christians in and around the village of al-Kosheh in late 1999 and early 2000. The verdict meant that most of the accused killers were still at large. Christians are outraged. Human rights activists and clergy both blame the Egyptian police for failing investigations.