The prosecution has collected evidence and built a case against the defendant based on the testimonies of 17 eyewitnesses and the Ministry of Health and Population’s Regional Mental Health Council’s report on his mental health condition during the time of the crime, the statement read.

The council's report showed that the man was fully cognizant and possessed agency throughout the crime, according to the statement.

The report also found that the defendant did not suffer from any symptoms of mental or psychological disorder at the time of examination or at the time of committing the crime, thereby making him criminally responsible, the prosecution said.

Additionally, the Public Prosecution said the victim’s autopsy report showed that the DNA extracted from the blood on the knife that was seized from the defendant after he was apprehended matched with the genetic fingerprint of the victim.

The prosecution also decided to move forward with the referral after checking on-site surveillance cameras, inspecting the crime scene, and obtaining other evidence, the statement said.

Wadid, 56, the Coptic priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos in Alexandria,  was stabbed with a knife while walking along the Mediterranean Corniche in the Sidi Bishr District in Alexandria on Friday 8 April in a crime that terrorised witnesses and left the public in a state of shock.

Wadid was transported to Mostafa Kamel Military Hospital in Sidi Gaber, however, he succumbed to his injuries.

During interrogation, the defendant confessed to deliberately killing the victim, the prosecution said in a statement last week.

However, the defendant later recanted his confession, claiming that the knife in his possession was just for self-defence and that he was not aware of what he was doing on the day of the incident until he was arrested.

Wadid, born in 1966, was ordained to priesthood in 1995 by the late Pope Shenouda III, the former head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.