The Coptic Pope Shenouda the third has said that foreign interference is not welcome in the affairs of the Egyptian church.

The statement by Pope Shenouda was issued following reports in a British newspaper the Sunday Telegraphof accusations by international human rights organisations and a prominent Egyptian Coptic cleric Bishop Anba Wissathat Eyptian police investigating the murder of two Copts had tortured villagers in al-Kosheh in August.

Pope Shenouda said the allegations were exaggerated and harmed Egypt's reputation.

The paper is being sued in a Cairo court over what is described as false information.The interior minister, Habib al-Adli, is reported to have approved the transfer to administrative duties of several senior police officers following the torture allegations