Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Egypt’s Attorney General, Justice Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, ordered the release of two Christian children held in custody pending investigation for contempt of the Islamic religion, after the intervention of President Mohamed Morsi to free them, in response to a memorandum submitted by a Christian activist.

A source in the Attorney General's office said that, "A decision was taken to release the two children aged 9 and 10 pursuant to the Egyptian law of the rights of the child, which prevents the detention of children".

For his part, Sherif Doss, head of the Egyptian Coptic Association, said: "The release of the Coptic children accused of desecrating the Quran came after Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian President, intervened".

Doss added that the Presidency issued instructions for the immediate release of both Coptic Christian children in the Egyptian village of Ezbet Marco (in Beni Suef province, south of Cairo).

"The decision came after authorities reviewed a legal memorandum about the circumstances of the case, prepared by Naguib Gabriel, an Egyptian lawyer, and presented to Samir Morcos, Assistant to the President of the Republic for democratic transition affairs, which led to the Presidency’s instruction to the Minister of Justice for an immediate release of the children."