Egypt: Coptic Christian sentenced to 5 years in prison for YouTube evangelism files appeal

A 37-year-old Coptic Christian researcher and YouTuber has filed an appeal to overturn his conviction for posting online videos about Christianity. He was sentenced in January to five years’ imprisonment with hard labor.Augustinos Samaan filed the appeal last week, according to ADF International, the international religious freedom legal advocacy organization representing him.He was arrested in the early hours of Oct. 1, 2025, by masked special forces officers who seized his laptop, phone, books and personal papers, reports Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based advocacy group for Egyptian Copts and persecuted minorities.Samaan runs a YouTube channel with more than 800,000 subscribers. His videos...