AFRICA/EGYPT - The Coptic woman who had disappeared returns home: she did not convert but had been kidnapped

Gabal al Tir (Agenzia Fides) - Iman Sarofim, the Coptic woman from Gabal al-Tir who disappeared in early September returned home to her family and said she was the victim of a kidnapping. Initially it was thought that the woman had voluntarily left her family and went with a Muslim man, after converting to Islam. The woman contacted the family from Suez, where she had been brought by the kidnapper. The return of the woman was joyfully celebrated by neighbors and relatives in the city of Gabal al-Tir.
The disappearance of the 39 year-old Iman Sarofim, mother of 5 children, had been the cause of clashes between Copts and police forces of Gabal al-Tir, which occurred on September 20, after relatives and friends of the woman had given birth to a spontaneous demonstration to denounce the lack of investigation. On the same evening, in retaliation, police officers had entered the homes of dozens of Coptic families carrying out acts of violent retaliation and arresting dozens of men. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 29/09/2014)