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Egypt president promises justice for elderly Christian woman subjected to public humiliation by Muslim mob

A mob in Egypt had taken it upon themselves to strip an elderly woman naked and parade her down the streets. In response, the country's president vowed that the people responsible will be brought to justice.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks to the media after the signing ceremony for a deal to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant between Egypt and Russia at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo. | Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

"We are all one and the law must take its course," said President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Monday, expressing that such acts of violence divide the people of Egypt.

According to The Telegraph, the mob's violence was sparked by rumors that the woman's Christian son had an affair with a Muslim woman. Her son managed to flee with his wife and kids on May 19, and she and her husband appealed to the police for fear of being targeted. A mob of about 300 came to their house the next day, looting the elderly couple's home and setting it ablaze, along with six other houses belonging to Christians.

"They burned the house and went in and dragged me out, threw me in front of the house and ripped my clothes," the woman told Reuters. "I was just as my mother gave birth to me and was screaming and crying."

According to local Coptic leader Bishop Makarios, no one did anything during the attack and the police did not take any security measures before it happened. He also said it took them two hours to respond to the mob's violence. By then, the woman had already been assaulted.

The president released an earlier statement condemning the attack and ordering the authorities to bring those responsible to justice. He also told the local authorities to have the damaged properties rebuilt in a month's time, the expenses to be shouldered by the state.

The event took place in the village of Al-Karm in Minya province, south of Cairo.