More than 150 Coptic Christians took part in a sit-in convened on Sunday, Feb. 7, in front of the provincial administration office in Minya, Egypt, to bring to the attention of the authorities the case of an 18-year-old Coptic girl missing for several days. The family of the young woman, resident in the city of Samalot, are convinced that she was kidnapped. Kidnappings that target Christians remain a scourge for the Coptic community in many areas of Egypt. Already several appeals have been launched by Christian organizations to Egyptian authorities, including President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to ensure that adequate measures are taken to combat this phenomenon. These flash kidnappings usually end up with ransom demands based on the economic capacity of the families of the hostages. But in several cases, the kidnappings have ended with the death of the hostages.

This article appears in February 29 2016.