CAIRO: The Alexandria Urgent cases court on Sunday postponed the case examining the Qeddesine Church bombing to Feb. 5, following requests to include new opponents including the military ruler Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi.
Lawyers have requested the inclusion of Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury and Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim in case, citing foot-dragging in investigating the bombing, according to the official news agency MENA
Hundreds of Egyptians held protests Saturday outside a Cairo courthouse and in the port city of Alexandria to demand answers over who was behind a bombing outside the Church of the Two Saints a year ago that killed 24 worshippers.
The attack in Alexandria took place Jan. 1, 2011, striking worshippers leaving a New Year’s Eve Mass.
A year later, no suspects are in custody. About 40 people were arrested within days of the attack but were released after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster because confessions from some of them were obtained under duress and none were found to have any link to the attack.
One of the accused men died in police custody after a severe beating. His death is also being investigated.
Initially, the government blamed "foreign elements," and the Alexandria governor blamed Al-Qaeda.
The Interior Ministry said the investigation stalled during the turmoil of the uprising that forced Mubarak out in February and in its aftermath.
A complaint was filed earlier this year to investigate former Minister of Interior Habib Al-Adly’s rumored involvement in the bombing.
Al-Adly and Mubarak are in prison on charges related to the killings of more than 800 people during the uprising.
