On Sunday Mar. 10, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced the death of  ‘Izzat Hakīm ‘Atallah  one of the Christians detained in Libya on charges of proselytisation. Dr. Najīb Jubrā’īl, president of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, confirmed that ‘Atallah along with the rest of the detainees, had been subjected to torture at the hands of Libyan security forces. He stressed that President Mursī and his government have not done enough despite the request of the Human Rights Council and the families of the detainees.

Also on Sunday, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II contacted the Egyptian embassy in Libya, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of other officials to discuss the possibility of transporting the body of the deceased to Egypt.

In the meantime, the Coptic Youth Front has called for protests in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo demanding the release of all the detainees, fair compensation for those being detained, and an official apology from Libya (Rānīyah Nabīl, al-Sabāh, Mar. 12, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.