A Christian-Coptic man in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut committed suicide on Saturday by jumping off the fourth floor of the Assiut courthouse, where he was set to face questioning over the stabbing of his wife.
Romany Farhan Amir was charged with killing his wife, Habiba Shaaban (formerly known as Azza Walim) outside their son's school on Saturday, angered by her conversion to Islam months prior, Al Ahram Arabic news website reported.
During the questioning, Amir confessed to killing his wife, who had separated from him following her conversion. He said he was afraid she would kidnap their son from his school.
Violence associated with the reported conversions of Coptic women to Islam and vice versa, has been common occurrences in Egypt's tense religious environment, where Copts make up approximately 10 percent of the population in a majority Muslim country.
In March, approximately 2000 people protested in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Beni Suef over the disappearance of a Muslim woman who allegedly converted to Christianity and fled to Turkey with an Egyptian Christian.
