Kidnappings of Copts Increasing

The Coalition of the Copts, an organization in the Egyptian governorate of Qena, has addressed an urgent appeal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and to the Egyptian Interior Ministry to ask for action against the scourge of kidnappings, affecting Coptic Christians in the areas of Upper Egypt in particular.

In the city area of Nag Hammadi alone, there have been 72 kidnappings for ransom in the past three years, of whom three were killed after the seizure. The amounts paid for the release of the  hostages in the area of Nag Hammadi have exceeded the total of $950,000.