The trial of three Muslim men accused of killing seven Coptic Christians outside a church in Egypt opened Saturday with “not guilty” pleas but was adjourned for five weeks.
After the three men – Hammam al-Qomy, Oreshi Abul Hagag and Hindawi Sayed Hassan – pleaded “not guilty” to the charges of "premeditated murder, putting the life of citizens in danger and damage to public and private property," the judge at the emergency security court in the southern Egyptian city of Qena adjourned the trial until March 20.
According to Middle Eastern news network Al Jazeera, the trial was adjourned to give defense lawyers time to read through case documents and come up with their requests in light of the men's recent claims of innocence.
Though the accused initially confessed to the shooting in front of the main church of the town of Nag Hamadi, al-Qomy – the main suspect in the killing – reportedly told the judge otherwise.
“Police know that I am innocent and who the real perpetrators are," al-Qomy said, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The other two have reportedly made similar claims.
"The accused have insisted that they have done nothing wrong and that they did not do that drive-by shooting,” noted Al Jazeera's on-site reporter Amr El-Kahky.
“If that's right, that will arouse questions on who is behind the attack on Egypt's Christian minority here,” the reporter added.
On Jan. 6, as Coptic Christians prepared to observe Christmas Day, gunmen traveling in a car opened fire in a shopping district in Nagaa Hammadi and later in front of the southern Egyptian town’s main church as worshipers emerged from mass.
Initial reports claimed that at least five Coptic Christians died from the shooting and at least seven others injured. The figures were later updated to include two more deaths and three more injuries, including a Muslim police officer.
According to an eyewitness of the drive-by shooting, most of those killed were young men in their 20s. Among those reportedly killed was a young man and his fiancé and a 14-year-old boy, an eyewitness told the Middle East Christian Association.
