Christian persecution is on the rise across the world, and in far too many countries, the authorities either turn a blind eye to the rising body count or tacitly encourage the persecution. Some Christians, however, are fortunate enough to see their attackers brought to justice. Egypt recently tried and sentenced 17 Islamic radicals to death for their roles in one of several massacres that specifically targeted Coptic Christians for slaughter.

The verdict against the 17 extremists came with the approval of the Grand Mufi, Egypt’s top religious authority. In addition to the 17 who were sentenced to death, a further 19 extremist were given life sentences, one radical was given a 10 year sentence and nine others were sentenced to nine to 15 years in prison. The extremists were convicted of belonging to ISIS and plotting terror attacks against Christian churches and security forces. The specific attacks the radicals were connected with included a suicide bombing inside a chapel adjacent to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo which killed at least 25 people in December 2016. The extremists were also connected to the 2017 Palm Sunday massacres which killed a total of at least 45 people.

Christians have long complained about facing discrimination in the Muslim-majority nation. Christians make up roughly 10 percent of the Egyptian population and say that the authorities often turn a blind eye to sectarian attacks or intimidation. As such, many are happy to see that there is justice being handed down to the extremists who murdered so many of their Christian brothers and sisters. That said, others are hesitant to applaud the ruling, not because of the sentence or crime, but because they do not want to endorse the military courts in which the trial was held. According to Najia Bounaim, the head of the North African section of Amnesty International, Egypt’s military courts are known for considering “’confessions’ extracted through torture” as admissible evidence. As such, some Christians are conflicted about the verdict. They are thrilled to see that some manner of justice is being done rather than the authorities continuing to turn a blind eye to the slaughter of Coptic Christians, but Christians are also aware of the dark side of the military courts. It makes for a bittersweet reaction to the verdict, but the fact that the extremists were found guilty has lent many Christians a sense of hesitant hope that other murderers of Christians will eventually face justice as well.