By Tamim Elyan
CAIRO: A Salafi group in Alexandria condemned the deadly attack on the Church of the Two Saints on the New Year’s in a statement on its website, describing it as an “evil” that threatens Egypt and Islam.
The group, which believes in a strict interpretation of Islam, denied any relation with the attack that left 23 dead and over 90 injured. A number of its members were arrested for interrogation as suspects.
Sayed Belal, a member of the group, was allegedly tortured to death by state security last Thursday during his interrogation.
“Our Islamic methodology rejects such acts that only benefit those who don’t wish Egypt well,” read the statement.
“Muslims and Christians in Egypt have lived side by side in peace for hundreds of years and frictions between them are the exception that proves the norm; however they have recently increased in rate for reasons that can be easily known for those who seek an objective analysis,” the statement added.
Alexandria’s prosecution said that preliminary investigation results show that Belal’s death wasn’t a result of torture, denying reports that they ordered the autopsy of his body.
According to press reports, Belal was interrogated on Tuesday night by Alexandria’s state security and returned home. On Wednesday, state security arrested Belal and searched his apartment in Al-Raml district.
On Thursday, his family received a call from Zeqelah hospital requesting them to retrieve Belal’s body, on which signs of torture were apparent. The family then officially accused state security of torturing Belal to death.
Yasser Borhamy, head of Alexandria’s Salafi group urged his group’s member to be patient and not escalate any confrontation with security officials.
“We mustn’t escalate to face oppression and must consider the consequences of our actions,” Borhamy said in a speech in front of the group’s members.
“We condemn the attack and will continue to demand the application of Islamic Sharia which will ensure a peaceful life for everyone,” he added.
Belal’s Family was pressured, according to his brother-in-law, Khaled Al-Sherif, to drop the case they filed against state security officials who refused to attend interrogations by the prosecution.
However, the family said it would give its account of the events at the prosecution office despite pressure.
Belal, 31, was a worker at soldering workshop and a former employee at a petroleum company until he was arrested in 2006 for unclear reasons. He used to be a member of Salafi groups and is married with a one-year-old child.
