Three Coptic students will face trial this week in Egypt for allegedly insulting Islam after they appeared in a video which showed them mocking Muslim prayers. Their teacher—who filmed the video—has already been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of insulting Islam. The students are expected to stand trial on Thursday.
The video reportedly shows the students pretending to pray while reciting Quranic verses. As one of the high-schoolers kneels, two others stand behind him laughing. One is then allegedly shown making a beheading gesture by moving his hand across his neck.
The students' lawyer said that the video came to light in April 2015, not long after Daesh militants in Libya released a video showing dozens of Coptic prisoners being beheaded on a beach.
The video prompted an angry backlash, with the students’ lawyer claiming that “the students couldn't attend school and remained indoors to avoid insults, beating and harassment.”
“This is all because of random and spontaneous action by some youngsters inside a bedroom and for only few seconds,” he said.
Egypt is home to around nine million Christians, and incidents of alleged blasphemy against Islam are not uncommon. Many have voiced concerns that they are being persecuted by the country’s Muslim majority.
