Egyptian court sentences 16 over Church raid

An Egyptian court on Wednesday gave 15 people one-year suspended jail sentences over a December attack on an unlicensed Coptic Church in a village south of Cairo, judicial sources said.

The perpetrators were each fined 500 Egyptian pounds ($28) on charges of inciting sectarian strife, harming national unity and vandalizing private property. They can appeal.

Owner fined

The Giza misdemeanor court also fined the owner of the building, a Christian man, 360,000 Egyptian pounds ($20,500) for turning his residency into a church without a license.

Dozens of Muslims from the village of Kafr al-Waslin attacked the church after Friday prayers on Dec. 22, smashing windows and breaking everything inside.

READ ALSO: Egypt detains 15 after attack on Coptic church in Cairo

The Archdiocese of Atfih had applied to legalize the church, which housed worshippers for 15 years after a church building law was passed in 2016.

Christians in Egypt have long complained of discrimination in the majority-Muslim country and have increasingly come under attack in recent years.

READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Details emerge on Egypt church attack after Friday prayer