Egypt postpones retrial of 21 defendants accused of burning church

The Criminal Court of Cairo has postponed the retrial of 21 people accused of burning the Virgin Mary Church in the Giza province village of  Kfar Hakim on 26 September.

The prosecution charged the defendants with joining a banned group and obtaining unlicensed firearms and ammunition, attempted murder and deliberately setting fire to a religious facility.

Read: Copts blame Sisi for deadly attacks

Seventy-one people were handed life sentences in 2015 for their role in burning the church. The Virgin Mary Church was torched and looted by a mob in August 2013.

In addition to those getting life sentences, two minors were sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,300), Egypt’s official Egynews reported.

Read: Egypt’s Coptic Christians face persecution at home and apathy abroad

Christians gather to mourn the victims of a Coptic Church bombing in December 2016