Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Naj‘ Hammādī’s Bishop Anba Kyrillos has denied the rumors spreading among Copts that the bodies of those killed on Christmas Eve weren't decomposed. "This is a lie, I didn't give permission to open the cemetery, and I have the keys since the day of the burial," he said.

 

He noted that the photos mentioned of the victims were taken in the morgue before burial, not picked up after the passage of six months.

 

He further expected that the aim of such rumors is to open the door for lawyers to expand the case and attempt to tamper with the bodies and change their features. Some sought to acquire wealth from the issue and to raise funds at the expense of the dead.

 

Rumors of the non-disintegration of the victims' bodies have recently spread on a number of online Christian forums, and a film was broadcast featuring the bodies in their full condition, claiming that such photos were taken after six months being buried.

 

 Church sources denied the opening of the cemetery in the desert of "Hū" mountain in Naj‘ Hammādī, saying that the video clip  on the internet  of the bodies of the victims is old video footage picked up during the burial of the bodies in the cemetery in January.

The video was broadcast on some websites with the title "After recently opening the cemetery for visitors and blessings, it was found that the victims' bodies weren't decomposed despite the passage of six months", according to al-Wafd Daily.