Kidnapping in Minya governorate has recently turned into a source of income. The abductions have exclusively targeted Copts and Islamic groups have been blamed, especially in the aftermath of numerous assaults against Coptic Christians following Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office.

Kidnapping in Minya governorate has recently turned into a source of income. The abductions have exclusively targeted Copts and Islamic groups have been blamed, especially in the aftermath of numerous assaults against Coptic Christians following Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office.

Recebt security records show the kidnapping of 17 Copts including seven doctors, a mayor and six children in a ten-day period. The last of these crimes was the kidnapping of Nadi Yesi Tanyous, Head of Dier Mawas Epidemics Hospital, for three days. Tanyous was eventually found abandoned along Kom Basha Road in Dashlout, Asyut Governorate.

Kidnapping children

Motives for the kidnappings have varied, as kidnappers have either demanded a ransom or sold the victim to another gang.  Doctor Ashraf Paulas Aziz was kidnapped by an anonymous group who called his family and demanded 1,000,000 EGP (US $145,000) for his release. Kidnappers of Barsoum Samir Qas, a resident of Taiba village in the Samalout district, asked for 1,000,000 EGP, which was reduced to 150,000 after negotiations, but Qas has still not been released.

Forty-year-old sales manager Nabil Fayek Boshra, also from Taiba village, was kidnapped in Malwi and moved to Tuna El Gebel, to be sold to another gang in Delja village for 20,000 EGP (US $2,900). His new abductors demanded 200,000 EGP (US $29,000) for his release, which was reduced to 80,000 (US $11,600) and he was released after payment of the negotiated ransom.

Even children have not been spared this trend. In Delja village gunmen kidnapped four-year-old Abanoub Majdi Saber from his father’s farm. The father was forced to pay 2,000,000 EGP (nearly US $300,000) for his son’s release. In Zahra village anonymous gunmen kidnapped nine-year-old David Imad Zarif, who was released after his father paid a ransom of 100,000 EGP (US $14,500).

Islamists and “thugs”

The identity of the kidnappers was speculated to be a mix of unemployed people, “thugs” and members of Islamic groups. Kidnapped individuals accused Islamic groups. Tanyous said three of his captors were bearded and affiliated to Islamic groups conducting “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” operations in Dier Mawas and their identities were well known.

Rami Malak, one of the abductees in the Smalout area stressed, “They were members of Morsi’s support demonstrations. They treated us inhumanely and beat our hands with sticks where we have cross tattoos. They undressed us, poured water on our bodies and forced our families to pay the requested ransom despite extreme poverty.” The kidnappers negotiated his ransom, which was 30,000 EGP (US $4,350). His family paid the sum then Malak was tossed unconscious outside his hometown. The kidnappers have not yet been arrested.

Security services blamed

Failure to arrest the culprits has roused anger among Coptic Christians. Tanyous criticized the security services for their failure to monitor the kidnappers’ movements during his three-day abduction. He said he has reported their names and descriptions, but none of them has been arrested yet.

Archbishop Stephanos Shehata, a priest at Samalout Church, which has witnessed several cases of kidnapping lately, said: “It appears that Minya police are on vacation.” He added that all acts of kidnapping are a result of lax security measures and negligent police officers. “The vulnerable Copts are being bullied and the state neglects their conditions, which is evident in Qadiseen, Kashah and Maspero attacks,” he said.

“Security forces fight on various fronts”

Major General Osama Mutwali, Minya Security Chief, denied these accusations, stressing that the security apparatus has been vigilent in fighting the problem and is steadily progressing in executing assigned duties, evident by the success achieved in returning the abductees to their families. “The problem lies in the reluctance of the families who refuse to update the security body about the developments of their case, because they’re afraid of the culprits. Nevertheless, we were able to arrest a gang accused of kidnapping three victims in Samalout, including two Brotherhood members and a member affiliated with the Islamic group providing them with weapons,” he said.

Mutwali added that four Islamic group “thugs” were arrested in Malwi, in addition to two others in Dier Mawas. He urged people to cooperate with security forces for “they are fighting on various fronts,” he explained.

Islamic Group denies accusations

The Islamic group in Minya denied involvement in the kidnapping of Copts. A leader of the Islamic group stressed that the kidnapping occurred within the context of a criminal conspiratorial scheme aimed at distorting the image of Islam, especially since several abductees reported having been tortured in the cross-tattooed area of their bodies. “We believe in God and respect all religions. We only fight those who attack us,” he concluded.

Anba Macarius, Bishop-General of Minya, expressed pessimism regarding the kidnapping incidents. “Such incidents will not disappear, since they reflect a sustainable and consistent methodology. We wake up every day to the news of new kidnapping cases committed by the same groups who burned our property in Dier Mawas after Morsi’s removal.  They are mostly “thugs” well known for trading arms, drugs and kidnapping.”