ShovelTrigger

Milad Malak, a 20-year-old Egyptian Coptic Christian and church deacon, was abducted, tortured, and killed by Islamist militants in Libya after repeatedly refusing their demands to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam. Milad had traveled from his home village of Sabrbay, near Tanta in Egypt's Gharbia Governorate, to Libya on September 2, 2026, hoping to find employment and financially support his family. He traveled with two Muslim friends from his village. However, while working in the western Libyan city of Zliten, the three were kidnapped alongside other Egyptian workers by an armed group. According to his sister, Madonna Malek, the family last spoke to Milad on October 4. Two days later, on October 6, they received a message informing them that he had been abducted and was being tortured. His kidnappers demanded a ransom of $4,700 for his release. The families of his two Muslim companions paid the ransom, and both men were released. Milad's family also transferred the requested $4,700, but his captors refused to free him. According to testimony from the two survivors and his family, the kidnappers discovered that Milad was the only Christian among the captives and began demanding that he renounce Jesus Christ and embrace Islam. He endured days of beatings, torture, and death threats but refused to abandon his Christian faith. His sister recounted his response to the kidnappers: "Even if you were to hack me to pieces, I would never renounce my faith." He was subsequently killed. The killing has revived memories of the 21 Christian martyrs murdered by ISIS on a Libyan beach in February 2015, when 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians and one Ghanaian Christian were beheaded after refusing to renounce their faith.