Egypt court confirms death penalty for priest’s killer

By Sayed Fathi and Mustafa Eid

CAIRO (AA) - An Egyptian court on Monday confirmed a death sentence against a suspect in the killing of a Coptic priest north of Cairo last year, according to a local judicial source.

The North Cairo Criminal Court said Ahmed al-Sunbati had murdered priest Samaan Shehata with a knife north of Cairo last October, the source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.

In November, the court had referred the sentence to Egypt's grand mufti for a non-binding opinion, as required by Egyptian law, and confirmed it on Monday.

Monday’s verdict is still subject to appeal.

Egypt has a sizable minority of 15 million Christians, according to 2015 church estimates.