05/11/2013, 00.00
EGYPT
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As more people are arrested for blasphemy in Egypt, a young Christian teacher is jailed

Demyana Emad, 23, a primary school teacher in Luxor, is accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in front of her pupils. She claims she is innocent. A group of Islamic extremists stormed into the school, urging pupils to testify against the woman.

Luxor (AsiaNews) - Under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, more and more people are being arrested in Egypt on allegations of insulting Islam. The latest case involves a Coptic teacher who was detained on the order of the Prosecutor's Office in the Governorate of Luxor, and is set to remain behind bars until the end of the investigations.

Until her arrest, Demyana Emad was a 23-year-old social studies teacher at the Sheik Sultan primary school in south Luxor. She became a case in April, when the head of the parents' association filed a complaint against the teacher for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in front of her pupils, a charge Ms Emad has rejected, calling for more evidence to be brought to the fore.

What is known is that recently, several Islamic "extremists" pushed their way into the school to press the pupils to testify against her.

Edam's case is not unique. With the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood, more and more people, especially minority Copts, have been detained on allegations of blasphemy and insulting Islam.

The most serious case occurred back in October in Bani Suef (Upper Egypt) when two Coptic children Nabil Nagy Rzik, 10, and Mina Nady Farag, 9, were arrested after local Islamic authorities accused them of urinating on some pages of the Koran.

Despite the resistance of their parents and the local priest, who pointed out that the two kids were illiterate, the imam of their village put pressure for their detention.

In another case in September 2012 in Sohag, Bishoy Kamel, a Coptic religion teacher, was sentenced to six years for posting blasphemous cartoons and insults against President Mohammed Morsi on Facebook. He has always maintained his innocence and said that he is the victim of a plot.

On 13 September 2012, police arrested Saber Albert, a 28-year-old Coptic man for posting an anti-Islam film that caused demonstrations all over the world.

Saber he went out egypt at 25 january of 2013.  

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