Dozens of Egypt Christians held in Libya
2013-03-01 22:05
Benghazi – At least 50 Egyptian Christians suspected of
trying to convert Muslims have been arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on
illegal immigration charges, a Libyan security official said on Friday.
"Forty-eight Egyptian traders who worked in the
Benghazi municipal market have been arrested based on reports of suspect
activities," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He said they were found in possession of a quantity of
Bibles, texts encouraging conversion to Christianity, and images of Christ and
the late Pope Shenuda of Egypt's Coptic Christians, none of which were for
"personal use."
But the main charge was illegal entry into Libya, he said.
A video posted on the internet shows dozens of men with
shaved heads squatted on the floor in a tiny room as a bearded Libyan recounts
how they had been arrested on charges of proselytising.
A local official, meanwhile, said the group of men were
being well treated and would be deported after an investigation over illegal
immigration was completed.
Four foreigners - an Egyptian, South African, South Korean
and a Swede with a US passport - were arrested in Benghazi in mid-February on
suspicion of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, something that is
strictly banned in Islam.
Since the 2011 revolution which ousted Muammar Gaddafi,
Libya's small Christian minority has expressed fears over Islamic extremism,
especially with the rise of armed militias enforcing their owns laws in the
absence of central control.
In December, two Egyptians died in a blast at a Coptic
church in the Libyan town of Dafniya.
