Egypt has freed most of the people arrested

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt has freed most of the people arrested in connection with inter-communal riots in the northern Egyptian town of Alexandria last month, a judiciary source told AFP.
 
"The attorney general decided to free another 54 suspects, bringing the total number of those released to 104," the source said.

Seventeen people were still being held for questioning., the source added.

Some 5,000 Muslim rioters clashed with police outside Saint Girgis Coptic Orthodox Church on October 21 in sectarian violence that left three dead and scores wounded.

They were protesting against the release of the DVD of a play performed in the church two years ago that they charge is offensive to Islam.

The clashes underscored the fragile religious balance of the Arab world’s most populous country. Church authorities say the Copts account for 10 percent of Egypt’s 74 million-strong population while the government says they make up just six percent.