Sa‘īd ‘Abd al-Masīh, one of the lawyers defending a Coptic man facing charges of raping a Muslim girl in Farshūt, stated that he left the case due to financial and professional corruption.
He told Sawt al-Ummah newspaper that most of the suspect's lawyers had received financial benefits from Coptic organizations and the Middle East for Freedoms Forum including its head, Majdī Khalīl.
Al-Masīh said that Peter al-Najjār received $5,000 and Ashraf Dāwūd $1,000 from Copts abroad and 2,000 Egyptian pounds from the Middle East for Freedoms Forum, which also gave Huwaydā al-‘Umda 6,000 Egyptian pounds.
"There is no coordination among lawyers in this case and most of them aimed to gain popularity," he said, noting that several lawyers visited Pope Shenouda.
