CAIRO: A man charged with murdering a university student in the Egyptian city of Mansoura last week has been sentenced to death by an Egyptian court.
Officials said Mohamed Adel’s case had been transferred to Egypt’s Grand Mufti, an integral part of death sentence proceedings.
Once the mufti grants approval, as he is expected to do, the final verdict will be announced during a trial on July 6, local news outlets reported.
After the ruling, hundreds of Mansoura residents held celebrations outside the courthouse.
Some said that they had been in a state of shock since Nayera Ashraf’s murder, with many women being too afraid to leave their homes, according The National newspaper.
Members of the victim’s family felt relieved after the court’s ruling.
“God willing we will be attending his funeral very soon,” Nayera’s older sister told local daily Al Masry Al Youm after the ruling.
Millions of Egyptians have been following the case since graphic videos of Nayera’s murder on a busy street in Mansoura were widely shared on social media, as reported by the GDN.
The killing has shone a spotlight on the issue of gender-based violence in Egypt.
The presiding judge, Bahaeldin Al Merri, gave a lengthy speech before issuing the verdict, quoting Quranic verses about the importance of mercy, justice and raising children with good values.
“The court declares that it could not find the capacity for mercy for someone who was not merciful himself,” Al Merri said at yesterday’s trial.
“Perhaps your death will do more good as an example for others than allowing you to live,” he told Adel.
Adel’s first trial took place on Sunday and was broadcast live on TV and social media. In his testimony he showed little remorse for his crime and he blamed the incident on the way Nayera’s parents raised her, claiming that he was defending himself after the victim’s family repeatedly harassed him.
The family denied all of Adel’s claims in a lengthy interview with popular Egyptian daily newspaper Al Watan.
As head of the country’s highest authority on Islamic law, Egypt’s Grand Mufti has a ceremonial right to approve or reject judicial execution orders. Though his opinion is not binding, it remains a necessary formality of death sentence proceedings.
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