Coptic children released from prison

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EZBET MARCO, Egypt, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Police released two young Coptic Christians accused of blaspheming Islam by tearing up pages of the Koran from an Egyptian jail, an official said.

Hamdy Faruq, the attorney general for Beni Suef said he ordered the release of Nabil Nagy Rizk, 10, and Mina Nady Farag, 9, from the juvenile detention center "due to their young age."

The young boys were not acquitted of their alleged crime and on condition of their release, their "families signed documents confirming they will bring both [boys] to the prosecution whenever they are needed for questioning," Faruq said.

The children were detained Tuesday after the imam of the mosque in their home village of Ezbet Marco turned them in for allegedly tearing up pages of the Koran, Ahram Online reported Thursday. Rizk's father said both boys are illiterate and would not have understood the content of the pages they tore while playing near a pile of garbage in the street.