The Criminal Court in Naj’ Hammādī (Nag Hammadi) has sentenced eight men accused of killing two Copts to death, and transferred their papers to the Muftī and the General Prosecution for further legal opinion. Security services had originally received a report on 26^th January 2011 of the death of Mu’awwad ‘As’ad Sam’ān, 64, a trader and resident of the village of Bahjūrah, and his son ‘As’ad, 24, an engineer. The accused had attempted to kidnap the two men, before showering them with bullets. According to reports from the Church, the number of cases of kidnapping of Copts in Naj’ Hammādī in exchange for ransom has risen to 23 since the revolution of 25^th January, 2011 (Yūsif Abū al-Wafā, al-Dustūr, Mar. 5, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic here.