The family of a boy who was kidnapped yesterday (Sunday, March 31) in front of Saint Paul Church in Um Bayūmī in Shubrā al-Khaymah has asked President Mursī and Prime Minister Hishām Qandīl to intervene in order to save the life of their son, Abānūb Ashraf. His kidnappers have asked for a ransom of five million pounds.
The incident occurred after shots were fired in the air during the Sunday sermon. The shots created a panic inside the Church, forcing Christian worshippers to flee the church. According to eyewitnesses, four men, estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 25, kidnapped the boy. The men tried, unsuccessfully, to kidnap the boy’s friend as well.
The boy’s father is from a wealthy region where he is a well-known real estate agent. The parents of the kidnapped boy have talked to numerous security figures and have described the car in which the kidnappers fled the scene.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has blamed the state for failing to protect and secure the churches amidst ongoing attacks against them. According to numerous activists, the promise made by the Minister of Interior to protect and secure the churches has not been applied on ground, indicating that the state is failing to protect Copts. This failure is demonstrated by the kidnapping of the child right outside a church (Mustafá Rahūmah, al-Watan, Apr. 2, p.5). Read original text in Arabic.
