Egyptian Mohamed Adel (C), the presumed murderer of university of Mansoura student Naira Ashraf, is surrounded by guards during as he is taken out of the defender s box, after his first trial session at the Mansoura courthouse, some 145km north of the capital Cairo, on June 26, 2022. AFP
The court sought the non-binding opinion of Egypt’s Grand Mufti on the verdict, as per Egyptian penal code.
The verdict is not final yet with the possiblty of an appeal.
During the trial, the prosecution presented to the court 25 eyewitnesses, including students and university guards who witnessed the stabbing of the 21-year-old student outside the gates of Mansoura University on 20 June.
Furthermore, the prosecution presented the testimonies of the victim's friends and colleagues, all of whom testified that the accused stalked and threatened the victim after rejecting his marriage proposal. The prosecution also stated that Nayera's family had previously filed several complaints at local police stations against the accused.
The state also presented to the court the detailed confessions of the accused as evidence, in addition to the victim's cell phone records and text messages that included death threats messages to Ashraf.
It also introduced into evidence footage of the incident from CCTV cameras around the university.
The court issued in its first session on Sunday a media gag order regarding the trial’s proceedings and sessions except for the sentence hearing.
The crime gained widespread media attention and social commentary from various segments of Egyptian society, including women’s rights advocates and controversial comments from clerics.
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