A Coptic Christian was arrested in Egypt for giving out copies of the Bible at a mall, and could be kept in prison for an indefinite period of time, according to his defense lawyer.
Medhat Ishak (35), was arrested on charges of blasphemy while he was at El-Arab Mall in Sixth of October City on August 7, handing out Bibles. Though initially, he was set to be detained for 15 days, his detention period was extended for another 15 days on Monday.
"Inside the mall he met a young man, and he didn't know if he was Christian or not, and he offered him a copy of the Bible and told him he should take it to know God more," Ishak's attorney Rafik Rafaat told Morning Star News. "So that young man told him that he was a Muslim and doesn't read the Bible, and Medhat apologized and left."
"The word 'blasphemy' means that he was insulting the other religion, but he didn't do that, and he didn't talk about Islam or prophets or anything like that to be accused of blasphemy," Rafaat continued. "So, now we are surprised that the attorney general accused him of blasphemy when he didn't commit any act of blasphemy."
Ishak was also initially accused of "inciting sectarian strife" and "harming national unity," according to Nader Shoukry, an Egyptian journalist. Such accusations could lead to a prison sentence of up to five years as a violation of Article 98 of Egypt's penal code, Ishaq Ibrahim, a researcher on religious freedoms at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told the Daily News Egypt.
Rafaat added that the judge may continue to extend his detention period for an indefinite amount of time.
The next hearing on Ishak's case will take place in two weeks.
