CAIRO — An
Egyptian court on Tuesday
sentenced a judge to death for murdering his wife, the judiciary said, in the
third high-profile femicide case in the country in two months.
اضافة اعلان
The criminal court decided “to refer the judge who
killed TV presenter
Shaimaa Gamal, and his accomplice, to the Grand Mufti of
Egypt” — a formality in death penalty cases.
The public prosecutor’s office said last month that
the judicial official concerned, Ayman Haggag, had been charged over the
“premeditated murder” of his wife, along with the accomplice, businessman
Hussein Al-Gharabli.
Gamal’s body had been found in a remote villa in
June, nearly three weeks after her husband had reported her missing, following
a tipoff from Gharabli, who had confessed to his role in the crime.
The next court hearing, when the approval of the
Grand Mufti is expected to be announced, is set for September 11.
The murder of Gamal is the third to have sparked
outrage in the conservative North African country in the past few months.
On June 19, college student
Nayera Ashraf was
stabbed to death in Mansoura, north of Cairo, by a man whose advances she had
rejected. A video of the attack was widely shared on social media.
In a highly publicized trial, Mohamed Adel was found
guilty after confessing to the crime in court and was sentenced to death.
The criminal court has called for his execution to
be broadcast live on television as a deterrent to others.
Earlier this month, a student identified only by her
first name Salma was murdered in similar circumstances in Zagazig, north of
Cairo.
A man whose advances she had rejected “repeatedly
stabbed her with a knife”, the prosecution said.
Patriarchal legislation and conservative
interpretations of Islam in Egypt have contributed to severely limiting women’s
rights and creating a culture of violence against women.
“Salma was murdered simply for being born a woman in
a misogynist society,” one social media user said, as some argued Salma was at
fault for befriending her assailant.
“So long as there are sympathizers out there who
make excuses for the perpetrators of these crimes, they will continue,” said
another.
Nearly 8 million Egyptian women were victims of
violence committed by their partners or relatives, or by strangers in public
spaces, according to a UN survey conducted in 2015.
The maximum penalty for murder is death in Egypt,
which carried out the world’s third highest number of executions in 2021,
according to Amnesty International.
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