A surveillance camera footage showing the liquor store owner sitting in front of his shop moments before he is slaughtered by the man standing behind him (Photo: Youtube)
The Alexandria Criminal Court issued on Sunday a preliminary death sentence for the murderer of local liquore store owner Youssef Lamei.
The death sentence is pending the non-binding consultative opinion of the country’s grand mufti, as per Egypt's penal code. Once the court issues the final verdict in the case, set for March 11, the defendant can appeal the verdict.
Earlier last month, a 48 year-old suspect was arrested in the case, two days after a video of the attack went viral on social media in January. The video showed a bearded man slashing the storeowner's throat twice with a knife from behind while the victim was smoking a hookah in front of his store.
Investigators said the suspect confessed to killing Lamei after viewing surveillance footage from the crime scene. The suspect said he had warned Lamei against selling alcohol multiple times, but that the victim had continued to do so, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
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