Egyptian Governor Blames Obama for Burned Churches With hundreds sentenced to death in Minya, the governor blames President Barack Obama for local violence. Friends and family members react after the Minya Criminal Court sentenced 683 alleged rioters to death. Peter Hessler for National Geographic PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2014 So who's responsible for all the trouble in Minya? Over the past year, this relatively obscure governorate in Upper Egypt, with a population of a little more than four million, has produced some of the country's most disturbing headlines. Burned churches, mass death sentences, a looted museum—these have all been prominent Minya...