Egypt's Interior Ministry and the Muslim Brotherhood Plan to Eliminate Copts, Says Former Politician

Mohamed Hamd el-Gamal, former head of the State Council, stated that Egypt's Interior Ministry and the Muslim Brotherhood have adopted a plan to eliminate Copts and media figures supportive of Copts in the country.

Gamal added that the detention of Coptic activists who had been injured during the skirmish was a reflection of the current discrimination Copts experience by those in power.

Gamal noted that the authorities have not arrested those people who attacked St. Mark's Cathedral, although cameras captured a large number of them carrying firearms during the attack.

For Gamal, the main problem in Egypt lies in the absence of constitutional and legal legitimacy, as Egyptians are currently living in a non-state. He sees the current collaboration between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists as another problem.

"According to the Penal Code, the arrest of any citizen cannot be conducted without providing the serious evidences," Gamal pointed out, highlighting the arrest of Christian mourners who were in the cathedral during the attack.

Gamal denounced the arrest of the Coptic activists, insisting such actions reflect the current security problems and the absence of law in the country.

Gamal said that both the Interior Ministry and the presidency committed a violation of arresting the Coptic activists who were injured during the aggression that targeted the cathedral. He added such institutions could be punished for such discrimination between the citizens.

Egyptian security forces arrested a number of Coptic activists on Friday against the backdrop of the attacks committed against the cathedral on Sunday in Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral after the funeral of the victims of Khosos.