Egypt court sentences two monks to death

CAIRO

An Egyptian court on Saturday handed down a preliminary death sentence against two monks for murdering a clergyman, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Last year, Coptic Bishop Epiphanius, head of the Anba Makar Monastery in Egypt’s northern Beheira province, was found dead inside the monastery.

Monks Isaiah El-Maqary and Faltaous El-Makary were found guilty of the murder and on Saturday, the court referred them to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s top religious authority, for consideration of the death penalty against them.

Egyptian law requires courts to refer cases to the Mufti for consideration of the death penalty ahead of a final verdict although his decision is non-binding.

The court has set April 24 as a date for confirming the verdict.

The number of Coptic Christians in Egypt is estimated at 15 million out of Egypt’s 104 million population, according to church figures.