Astonished the protests, Aswan Governor Major General Mustafá al-Sayīd said that there are foreign hands attempting to disturb national security.

The April 6 Movement and Egyptian Movement for Change [Kifāyah] as well as Coptic youths had protested off Aswan governorate offices on October 3, 2011, condemning the burning of Saint George Church in the village of Marīnāb, Idfū, while the governor termed the protests as "unjustified."

He added that the public prosecution is investigating the incident and inspecting forged documents.

However, if the documents are not forged, he said, the prosecution will prove it.

The Saint Mark Cathedral, for its part, had prepared a file about the church licenses, considering it a clear response to the governor's allegations.