Teens on trial for murder
FOUR teenagers have been put on trial on charges of killing an 18-year-old boy. The General Prosecution referred Mohamed Rageh, 19, and three other teens to court for the death of Mahmoud Al-Banna after Al-Banna told Rageh to stop sexually harassing a girl. Rageh told Al-Banna it was none of his business.
A few hours later, Rageh saw a post on Al-Banna’s Facebook account about the incident. He chased Al-Banna, stabbing him in the neck and abdomen several times using a bladed weapon. The attack, in front of a coffee shop in the city of Tala in Menoufiya governorate, ignited social media, with angry users calling for Rageh’s execution and circulating a video of the incident. Activists launched a hashtag on twitter “Rageh is a murderer” which trended in Egypt. The teens, all students, are to go on trial in Menoufiya juvenile court on 20 October.
Grandmother jailed
A GRANDMOTHER on Saturday was sentenced to three years for physically abusing her six-year-old granddaughter. The grandmother, Safaa Abdel-Fattah, is to also stand trial for brutally torturing until death her other five-year-old granddaughter Jannah. The ruling was passed by the Shirbin Misdemeanours Court in Daqahliya. According to a report issued by Shirbin Hospital on Jannah’s death, the girl suffered injuries on various parts of her body, including burns to the genitals.
Prosecutors spoke to the girl in hospital before her death. She told them that her grandmother tortured her and caused the injuries. The other granddaughter, Amany Mohamed Sami, stated that the suspect used to beat them with metal tools and burn parts of their bodies.
Prosecution investigations revealed that the parents of the two children were divorced and that the children lived in the custody of their grandmother because their mother was blind. Forensic doctors who conducted an autopsy on Jannah confirmed that the girl suffered third-degree burns on her back and genitals in addition to bruises around her right ankle and wrists. They confirmed that these injuries occurred during successive periods of time, indicating repeated torture. Forensic doctors said that Jannah’s death resulted from complications caused by her injuries, which led to her vital functions failing. Sami also had burns and bruises on various parts of her body. The grandmother confessed beating and burning the girls, claiming that the physical abuse was done with the intent of properly raising them. The General Prosecution ordered the placement of Sami in a social welfare home affiliated to the Ministry of Social Solidarity to provide a suitable environment for her health and psychological welfare.
Waiting for mufti’s opinion
THE MILITARY Criminal Court on Sunday referred the case of a Libyan charged with terrorism to Egypt’s grand mufti for a religious opinion regarding the death sentence. The opinion of Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, however, is not binding.
Abdel-Rehim Mohamed Al-Mesmari was involved in the Bahariya Oasis attack which left 16 police officers dead. The prosecution referred Al-Mesmari and 41 other defendants to the Military Criminal Court after they killed 16 security personnel and left 13 injured in October 2017 at the Bahariya Oasis road. The court set 3 November as the date for final rulings against the 42 defendants.
Al-Mesmari was trained to carry out terrorist operations targeting police officers. He also set up a training camp in oasis desert, joining several terrorists in carrying out operations against churches and state institutions.
Drills with South Korea
EGYPTIAN-South Korean naval forces on Saturday carried out a joint maritime drill in the Mediterranean Sea with the participation of several maritime units from the two countries. This comes as part of Egypt’s plan to reinforce military cooperation with friendly countries. The drill, which included the implementation of several training activities, aims to exchange military expertise with South Korean naval forces and utilise the bilateral capabilities of the two countries. The drill displays the strong combat capabilities and level of training that the participating forces have reached. This will help secure vital international objectives in the Mediterranean Sea.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 October, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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