Trial of the Monks' Killers Begins in South Africa

Two men accused of fatally stabbing three Egyptian monks belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church appeared in a South African court this week. The arraignment took place on Thursday and both remain in custody until their next court appearance. One of the suspects, named Said Basinda, is a 37-year-old Egyptian dressed in a blue shirt with a white bandage wrapped around his left arm. The other suspect, Samuel Afamarkos, is a 47-year-old South African. Both recorded their addresses as being in the same area of the town of Cullinan, east of the capital Pretoria, where the murder took place. The case has been postponed to March 27 to allow them to obtain legal representation and the Arabic translator they requested. They were arrested following the murders of the monks on Tuesday at the Monastery of Saints Mark the Apostle and Samuel the Confessor in Cullinan, where a fourth person was also beaten with an iron rod before fleeing to safety, according to police. Some church members, dressed in black robes, were present in the courtroom and sat quietly during the brief proceedings. According to police, nothing was stolen during the attack, and the motive remains unknown.