The
following excerpts are from AINA.org:
Egyptian
police have rescued four Copts who were kidnapped while on their way
from a pilgrimage site in Minya province.
Authorities
raided an isolated farmhouse in the mountainous area not far from the
city of Salamut where the victims were taken away by armed gunmen,
the Catholic Fides news agency reported.
Police
tracked down the hideout of the kidnappers, who demanded ransom from
the victims' families of 600,000 Egyptian pounds ($79,000), at the
village of Akoris.
The
raiding team stormed the kidnappers' safe house around dawn May 20,
and a firefight ensued between authorities and the criminals. Some of
the kidnappers managed to escape.
Police
found the victims shackled with chains at the farm, and saw
indications that they had been tortured by their captors, who waited
for ransom to be paid.
The
victims said the kidnappers constantly threatened to kill them if
their families refused to pay ransom.
Some
of the victims even suffered physical abuse as the kidnappers beat
them up while waiting for the families to give into their demands.
Three
of the victims were adults with ages ranging from 20 to 35 years,
while the fourth was a five-year-old child.
The
victims had come from the Church of the Virgin Mary in Jabal al-Tair,
which was built around 328 A.D. on the orders of Queen Helena, the
mother of Emperor Constantine.
The
church is one of the most popular Marian shrines frequented by the
Coptic Christian community in Egypt.
Read
more by clicking below:
Egypt Police Rescue Kidnapped Christians
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