Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The Council of Churches in Egypt expressed the unanimous sympathy of all Christian communities in Egypt for the assassination of Attorney General Hisham Barakat, who on Monday, June 29 was the victim of a terrorist attack. In a statement released by the Coptic Orthodox priest Bishoy Elmy, head of the Secretariat General of the Council, Barakat is defined as a "brave man" and his tenacity in defending justice and law, without being intimidated by the dangers is highlighted.
The text also expresses condolences to the victim's family and to all the Egyptian judiciary.
Coptic sources report that when Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros heard the news of the murder, he immediately interrupted his visit to the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Wadi Natrun and returned to Cairo. In another statement, the Coptic Orthodox Church launched an appeal to all national forces to remain steadfast and united before the attack of extremism and terrorism, asking God to preserve the Egyptian nation from harm.
65-year old Hisham Barakat was a key figure in the trials against the Muslim Brotherhood after the deposition of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, in July 2013. The attack that killed him was claimed by the Islamist group al-Moqawma al-Shabia, considered close to the Muslim Brotherhood. The funeral, scheduled for today in a mosque in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, will be attended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, while the Coptic Orthodox Church will be represented by Anba Theodosius, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Giza. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 30/06/215)
