(AINA) -- In mid-October Egyptian media published news of an altercation between Muslim and Christian
students over a classroom seat at a school in Mallawi,
Minya province. The altercation lead to the murder of
a Christian student. The media portrayed the incident
as non-sectarian. However, Copts Without Borders, a
Coptic news website, refuted this version and was first
to report that the Christian student was murdered
because he was wearing a crucifix.
"We wanted to believe the official version," said
activist Mark Ebeid, "because the Coptic version
was a catastrophe, as it would take
persecution of Christians also to schools." He
blamed the church in Mallawi for keeping
quiet about the incident.
Today the parents of the 17-year-old Christian student Ayman Nabil Labib, broke their
silence, confirming that their son was murdered on October 16, in "cold blood because
he refused to take off his crucifix as ordered by his Muslim teacher." Nabil Labib, the
father, said in a taped video interview with Copts United NGO, that his son had a cross
tattooed on his wrist as per Coptic tradition, as well as another cross which he wore under
his clothes.
Both parents confirmed that Ayman's classmates, who were present during the assault
and whom they met at the hospital and during the funeral, said that while Ayman was
in the classroom he was told to cover up his tattooed wrist cross. He refused and defiantly
got out the second cross which he wore under his shirt. "The teacher nearly chocked
by son and some Muslim students joined in the beating," said his mother.
According to Ayman's father, eyewitnesses told him that his son was not beaten up in
the school yard as per the official story, but in the classroom. "They beat my son so
much in the classroom that he fled to the lavatory on the ground floor, but they followed
him and continued their assault. When one of the supervisors took him to his room,
Ayman was still breathing. The ambulance transported him from there dead, one hour
later."
Prosecution arrested and detained two Muslim students, Mostapha Essam and Walid
Mostafa Sayed, pending investigations in the murder case.
The father said that everyone in Mallawi knew how the event took place, but not one
of the students' parents was prepared to let their children come forward and give a
statement to the police. "They are afraid of the school administration, which has
lots of ways to harass the students, as well as being afraid of the families of the two
Muslim killers." Read the rest on:
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