Though the majority of the village al-Bushrā in Mallawī in the Governorate of al-Minya is muslim, the inhabitants collected 50,000 EGP for the release of kidnapped 10-year-old Marcus who belongs to the village. Some hours after the ransom was paid he was freed and returned to the village, security forces managed to arrest the kidnappers. Marcus has been kidnapped when he was on the farm where his father works. The kidnappers thought his family was rich. At first, they demanded a ransom of 500,000 EGP, but reduced it after some phone calls to 200,000 EGP and finally to 100,000 EGP.

In the same city, unidentified persons have kidnapped 14-year-old Kirollos Ridā Fadl on New Year's Eve. His father says that he still does not know where his son is and has not received any phone call. Former Member of Parliament, Haile Selassie Mīkha'īl, said that it is not the first time this happens in Mallawī, especially among Christians. He claimed that the anti-terrorism law has to be enforced and said that most of the kidnapper's families do not contact the police (Islām Fahmī, al-Watan, Feb. 14. p. 3). Read original text in Arabic here.