Coptic Christian student beaten to death, by teacher and classmates, in school

This report is heart-breaking:

In mid-October Egyptian media published news of an altercation between Muslim and Christian students over a classroom seat at a school in Mallawi, Minya province, reports Michael Ireland, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

Egyptian journalist Mary Abdelmassih, writing for AINA -- Assyrian International News Agency -- www.aina.org, says the altercation lead to the murder of a Christian student.

AINA says the media portrayed the incident as non-sectarian. However, Copts Without Borders, a Coptic news website, refuted this version and was first to report that the Christian student was murdered because he was wearing a crucifix.

As Nina Shea put it, a few months ago, the so-called "Arab Spring" "has not been kind" to Egypt's Christian minority.