Update: Jailed Coptic Engineer Now at Alexandria Police Station, Sister Says, as Family Waits for Word
Sherif Wagih Fahmi's relatives may leave supplies twice a week but cannot see or call him. Priests were told he would be out in two or three weeks.
See where this is ›ALEXANDRIA, Egypt —
Sherif Wagih Fahmi, the 41-year-old Coptic Christian engineer arrested in Alexandria, Egypt, Oct. 5 after objecting online to Islamic teaching in schools, is now being held at Montaza First Police Station in the city's Victoria area, The Christian Post reported Nov. 2. He was reportedly held first for more than a week at a National Security office in the Smouha area. Earlier reports could not say where he was.
His sister, Emy, told the advocacy group Coptic Solidarity that he was charged with publishing false information online. The Christian Post also cited Article 98(f) of Egypt's Penal Code, which covers using religion to spread extremist ideas to cause sedition, insult revealed faiths or harm national unity. International Christian Concern, or ICC, reported he was charged with speaking against Islam.
Relatives may drop off supplies on Tuesdays and Fridays but cannot visit or call him, according to the report. The family has hired a lawyer, and the case has a number, but the lawyer has not yet shared details. Priests who intervened were told he would be freed after two or three weeks, and the family has heard nothing since.
ICC said officers came to his apartment complex and one told his daughter they were from the gas company. Neighbors filmed him being taken away in a white minivan, ICC said. The Christian Post said the arrest came at about 1 p.m. and that his wife learned of it by 10 p.m. His sister says the men had no arrest warrant.
According to his sister, the state plans to introduce Quranic schools known as kuttabs and expects every student, Muslim or not, to memorize about a quarter of the Quran. The Christian Post did not independently verify that claim. “What is happening to your Coptic brother today will happen to you as well,” she said.
ICC and The Christian Post said 14 people have been arrested in Egypt since September for voicing beliefs outside Islam. The Christian Post named Augustine Samaan, Romany Gharib and Saeed Abu Mostafa among those held over their views. In a January statement, Amnesty International researcher Mahmoud Shalaby said authorities “must stop criminalizing discussions about religious beliefs.”
What we don't know yet: The exact charge on file, the case number and when Fahmi might be released. These details come from his sister and from advocacy groups; the reports include no response from Egyptian officials, and Watchman News could not independently confirm them.
