With flutes and drums, the people of Sohag received the six Copts who were kidnapped Copts in Libya, after their return on Monday following their liberation from the kidnappers in the city of Tripoli.
Major General Tariq Al-Fiqi, Governor of Sohag, received the returning Copts, who are from the Al-Balina District. According to Egyptian media, the six citizens expressed their thanks and appreciation for “the efforts and interest of the political leadership, and the continuous follow-up to them until their arrival safely to the homeland.”
After the meeting, they went to their homes in the village of Al-Harjah in Al-Balina, amidst an overwhelming joy that spread to all the villagers.
The exact conditions of the liberation of the abducted Copts are not known. But after the case came to light and the public attention it got, especially being eight years almost to the day after the killing of 21 Copts in Libya, Egyptian authorities seem to have moved, seeking help from tribal leaders. There were also news that a Coptic businessman arranged to pay the requested ransoms that helped secure the release of the abducted persons.
It’s noteworthy that after we at Coptic Solidarity were first to report in the English language that 6 Copts were abducted, and tying it to the fate of what happened 8 years earlier in Libya to Copts, several other reports picked up the story and connection, and the Copts were soon released.
