The Governor of Minya in Egypt demolishied ten newly built homes belonging to Coptic Christians in Saeed Abdelmassih because the families would not pay him bribes.
Thousands of Copts protested the corrupt governor last week.
The Governor of Minya ordered the demotion of ten newly built homes belonging to three Coptic families in the village of Saeed Abdelmassih, 30 km from Minya, without any reason.
Villagers said that the Governor asked the families to pay one million pounds as a voluntary contribution to the governorate in order not to pull down the houses and when they refused they were asked to donate one-fifth of the land to build a mosque near St. Demiana Church. The owners also denied his request as all inhabitants of the village are Copts and no Muslims live there. This prompted the governor to carry out the demolition of the homes on February 28 by the police and army forces.
The new Freedom and Equality Party called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on February 28, to sack the governor of Minya and accused him and others of causing sectarian strife in the governorate.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an NGO that monitors the situation of religious freedoms in Egypt, published a two-year report from January 2008 to January 2010. According to the report there have been at least 53 incidents of sectarian violence or tension against Copts by Muslims (about two incidents a month) that have taken place in 17 of Egypt’s 29 governorates, with Minya coming on top with 21 incidents.
