Egypt: Coptic Christians sentenced for five years in jail

Coptic Christians

An Egyptian military court on Sunday sentenced two Coptic Christians to five years in prison for violence and trying to turn a factory into an unlicensed church, judicial sources said. According to AFP, the two men, also convicted of possessing weapons, were detained on May 18 after confrontations between Christians and Muslims in Cairo's Ain Shams district.

Sameh Abdel Satar, a member of the Egypt Lovers and Peace Society, said the Coptic Church had obtained permission in January to convert the building, which it had bought in 2006, into a church.

According to the military prosecution, the building was registered as a garment factory and that the two men attacked workers inside.