Priest Rizkallah Judah, the caretaker of the Archangel Michael and Bishop Antonius Church in Diābiyah, Wastā District in Beni Suef, has called upon officials in the governorate to implement Presidential Decree 156/2008 about renovating and maintaining churches. He pointed out that that a few clerks have shown intransigence, which was the reason why the construction of the church has stopped, as they have refused to issue reconstruction licenses in contradiction to the above mentioned decree.
He requested the governor Magdī al-Batitī to intervene to issue the necessary licenses to reconstruct the church especially after it has been burnt entirely on August 11 after a fight started between a Copt and a Muslim in the village. He also demanded the release of the Coptic defendants that have been imprisoned in this case (Jirjis Wahīb, Watanī, Nov. 3, p. 5). Read the original text in Arabic.
