To this day, no one has been held accountable for an attack on an elderly Christian woman in the village of Al-Karm, which happened nearly seven years ago.

On 20 May 2016, Mrs Suad Thabet was brutally beaten and stripped in public by a mob after her son was accused of having a relationship with a divorced Muslim woman. In January 2023, the three men accused of attacking Mrs Thabet were acquitted by the Court of Appeal of the charges levelled against them.

This latest verdict is final; it cannot be appealed. It indicates that religion-related impunity remains deeply rooted in Egypt, even in its highest court.

Más información en csw.org.uk/egypt

Read through Psalm 82, in which God condemns unjust judgements and champions the cause of those who are treated unfairly. Use the verses to inspire your prayers:

• For an end to sectarian violence and the pervasive culture of impunity.
• For religious communities who are denied justice, places of worship, or other fundamental rights.
• For wisdom for those in authority, that they would be impartial and treat all citizens equally.

Psalm 82

God presides in the great assembly;

he renders judgment among the ‘gods’:

‘How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the weak and the fatherless;

uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

‘The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

‘I said, “You are ‘gods’;

you are all sons of the Most High.”

But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.’

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations are your inheritance.

Download a printable copy of this week’s Prayer Diary