By Essam Fadl
CAIRO: An Administrative Court decided on Tuesday to drop the case filed by Islamist lawyers to reveal the location Kamelia Shehata, 25-year-old wife of a Minya priest, where they accused the church of detaining her.
The court said no evidence was found to prove the church detained her, deciding to freeze the case until the prosecution finishes investigations.
Rumors suggested Shehata had converted to Islam after leaving her family. Some alleged she was later held at the church against her will. Salafi groups organized many protests demanding her release and to hand her to Al-Azhar.
Those rumors were denied by Shehata who appeared on a Coptic TV channel to confirm she did not convert to Islam and was never detained by the church, adding that she left her house due to problems with her husband.
The court refused in its previous hearing the request of the plaintiff lawyers to summon Shehata for testimony. The court said it was not investigating Shehata’s religious affiliation, but whether or not she was detained by the church.
Shehata’s lawyer Naguib Gobrael told Daily News Egypt that the court decision was based on the fact that the plaintiff is unrelated to Shehata, and no evidence was presented to prove she was detained.
“Prosecution will continue investigating the case, and I expect it to reject the case too,” Gobrael added.
