Court Sentences Priest From Attacked Church Building

March 7, 2012|1:01 pm

The Rev. Makarious Bolous of the Mar Gerges Church in Aswan was sentenced on Sunday (March 4), but neither the imams who called for the attack nor the Muslim villagers who destroyed the church building last September have been charged with any crime.

Bolous said the ruling, coupled with the absence of prosecution against those who burned down the church building, is clear evidence of persecution and a legal double standard between Christians and Muslims.

"I feel it is unjust," Bolous said. "It's not fair."

The lower court that made the ruling also fined Bolous 300 Egyptian pounds (US$50). Bolous remained free Tuesday (March 6) awaiting appeal.

Local government officials said the building was 2.5 meters taller than what they had approved on a series of architectural drawings. Bolous said the citation was issued days after the fire.

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The priest said the charges surprised him. A significant percentage of construction projects in Egypt are done without permits, he said, and even when permits are issued, adherence to their stipulations is casual and enforcement is lax. The village where the church building once stood is surrounded by homes that have two or three extra floors built outside of permitted specifications and by others that were built with no permit at all, according to Bolous.

"The whole village is full of people who are building against their licenses," Bolous said. "So the whole thing is, 'Why did they only cite the church and pick on the extra bit of building?'"

Bolous' attorney, Osama Refaat, said the citation was unusual because by law contractors, not property owners, are responsible for permit violations.

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Court Sentences Priest From Attacked Church Building