Seven Egyptian Copts killed in Libya - Christians in Libya need better protection

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands better protection for Egyptian Coptic Christians living in Libya. "The Copts in Libya cannot be treated as fair game any longer," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-consultant, in Göttingen on Tuesday. "Libya must guarantee a minimum level of safety for the Christian minority. Otherwise, the freedom of religion in the Muslim-majority state is no longer guaranteed. "On Monday, the dead bodies of seven Coptic people from Egypt were found on a beach near a suburb of Benghazi. They had apparently been killed by shots to the head.

This is not the first time since the fall of dictator Gaddafi that Coptic Christians or their institutions are attacked in Libya. In December 2012, two people were killed and three injured in a bomb raid on a Coptic church in the city of Misrata. In March 2013, there was an arson attack on the most important Coptic Church in Benghazi. The church has now been closed ever since. There are about 3,000 Coptic Christians living in the city. Father Boula, the parish priest of the region, and one of his employees had already been attacked and threatened on February 28, 2013.

In spring of 2013, more than 100 Cots were arrested based on charges of trying to proselytize in the Islamic state. A Christian bookseller was arrested and thousands of Bibles were confiscated. The bookseller was accused of distributing the prayer books. He denied the allegations and was later released, following massive protests in Egypt.

During Gaddafi's rule, there were about 300,000 Egyptian Copts living in Libya, but the church has only about 10,000 members nowadays. Most of them are doctors, engineers, teachers and skilled workers. However, most of the immigrants have left the country since the economic situation has become worse due to the ongoing armed conflicts and political motivated murders.