Egyptian Shiite sources said Sunday authorities have released three Egyptian Shiites after they renounced their sect to the Sunni religious authority.
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The prisoners were reportedly released last week after being held for eight months after security forces cracked down on Muslim Shiites in December, accusing them of belonging to an illegal sect.
Egyptian Shiite cleric Ahmad al-Nafees blasted authorities for forcing the prisoners to renounce their religion, saying it "takes us back to the Middle Ages."
Al-Nafees, who is leading a campaign to legitimize the Shiite sect in Egypt, told United Press International official efforts to force fellow Shiites to change their religious beliefs were failing. He termed those efforts "unwise" measures.
Egyptian authorities have refused to comment concerning the charges, which were condemned by international human rights organizations.
Although there is no official estimate of the number of Egyptian Shiites, they are unofficially believed to total approximately 700,000 people.