PRETORIA, South Africa
Two men accused of fatally stabbing three Egyptian monks belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church in South Africa this week have appeared in court on Thursday and will remain in custody until their next court appearance.
Saeed Basanda, dressed in a
blue t-shirt and a white bandage wrapped around his left hand, has been
identified as a 37-year-old Egyptian national.
His co-accused, Samuel
Avamarkos, is identified in the charge sheet as a 47-year-old South African
citizen.
They both registered their
addresses as the same plot in the town of Cullinan where the murders took
place.
The case has been postponed to
27 March for the two to get legal representation and an Arabic translator that
they have requested.
ALSO READ: Three Egyptian Coptic monks killed in South Africa monastery
The two were arrested after
the monks were killed Tuesday at the Saint Mark Apostle and Saint Samuel the
Confessor Monastery in Cullinan, a town east of the capital Pretoria where a
fourth person was also beaten with an iron rod before escaping to safety,
according to police.
Members of the church wearing
black robes were in the gallery of the courthouse and sat quietly as the brief
proceedings took place.
According to the police,
nothing was stolen during the attack and its motive remains unknown.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has
its headquarters in Egypt and dioceses in several countries. It is one of the
oldest Christian communities in the world and has been the target of deadly
attacks by Islamic militants in Egypt and elsewhere.
However, such deadly attacks
on churches and places of worship are rare in South Africa and the motives for
the triple killing this week remains unclear.
The Coptic Orthodox Church
named the monks killed in South Africa as Monk Hegumen Takla el-Samuely, Monk
Yostos ava Markos and Monk Mina ava Markos. All three were Egyptian nationals.
The Coptic Orthodox Church of
South Africa said that el-Samuely was the deputy of the local diocese.
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