Egyptian judge wanted to kill Christian convert
The judge presiding in the case of Martha Samuel Makkar, an Egyptian who sued for official recognition of her conversion from Islam to Christianity, stated that he wanted to kill her, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Nadia Tawfiq said Judge Abdelaa Hashem questioned Makkar extensively about her Christian faith during the hearing. Makkar, charged with forging identification documents, explained her reasons for her conversion, avowing her Christian faith and repudiating the judge’s claims that converting from Islam to Christianity was impossible.
“Then he said, ‘I want to talk with Martha alone,’ so we all left the room, and he said to her, ‘Nobody changes from Muslim to Christian – you are a Muslim,’” Tawfiq said. “And she said, ‘No, I am a Christian.’ He told her, ‘If I had a knife now, I would kill you.’ [Makkar] came out crying and depressed, but at least he gave the decision to let her go free.”
Martha Samuel has frequently been harassed and threatened since she became a Christian five years ago. She and her husband finally decided to flee to Russia with their two children to escape further persecution. Authorities apprehended the family at Cairo Airport last month and charged her with forging documents. (Her passport carries her Christian name, which is not officially recognised.)
An earlier report said that she was raped and beaten while in custody. Now she has been granted bail by a judge who apparently wants her dead.
[...] TOLERANT Egyptian judge wanted to kill Christian convert …. [...]