CAIRO: The trial of an Egyptian Coptic Christian man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Muslim girl has been adjourned till Feb. 17, the official MENA news agency reported.
The hearing took place in the southern city of Qena, around 600 km south of Cairo.
Girgis Baroumi Girgis, 21, is accused of having raped 12-year-old Youssra Mohamed in the southern village of Farshout in November last year.
Authorities have said the rape prompted a revenge attack in which six Coptic Christians were gunned down as they emerged from their Christmas Eve mass in the southern town of Nagaa Hammadi on Jan. 6.
In November, news of the alleged rape saw hundreds of Muslim protesters burn Christian-owned shops and attacking a police station where they believed Girgis was being held.
Roughly 10 percent of Egypt s 80-million-strong population is Coptic Christians, who complain of discrimination and marginalization. -AFP
