Two hundred public figures signed a statement calling for the dismissal of the Minister of Interior, Al-Adly, achieving the “fair” demands of the Copts after the incident in the Saints Church in Alexandria in which more than 20 Copts died and dozens of Muslims and Christians were injured. The statement was signed by intellectuals, writers, artists, journalists and authors.

The statement heavily criticised Al-Adly for the policy of “repression and fabricating charges” regularly. The signatories included a large number of writers including Bahaa Taher, Sona-Allah Ibrahim, Gamal Bekheet, Sakina Fouad, Mikkawi Saeed, Mohamed Abdel Qodous, Ibrahim Eissa, Naglaa Bedeer and Kareema Kamal.

Artists and filmmakers, politicians, heads of political parties and other public figures were among the signatories.

The statement accused the Ministry of Interior of using the incident of the Saints Church as a license to exercise suppression, pointing out the killing of Sayed Bilal who died immediately after leaving the police station due to severe torture. He was arrested along with a large number of citizens following the incident amd taken to a police station in Alexandria.

The statement confirmed that the policy of the Minister of Interior reveals “The insistence of the security to play a game of balances in a case that concerns all Egyptians and the unity and cohesion of the Egyptian community. It also reveals attempts of the police to isolate Muslims and activists from Copts in order to hide the security and the government’s defects.”

The statement also called for holding accountable those responsible for the torture of Sayed Bilal and others and to drop all the charges against the eight activists.