EGYPT: Sexual predator sentenced to 45 years in prison

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In another indication Egypt is cracking down on sex offenders, the Cairo Criminal Court has sentenced Mohamed Mostafa Sayed to 45 years in prison for serial harassment.

The 21-year-old barber, dubbed the ‘Maadi serial killer’ by newspapers, even though he has killed no one, was found guilty of sexually harassing nine females in the neighborhoods of Maadi, Rod El Farag and Basateen between December 2006 and January 2007.

The court announced that Sayed, who used a razor blade to cut his victims’ clothes to reveal their bodies in public and sometimes made physical contact, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for each of the nine cases.

After 11 months on the run, Sayed was caught in February, and despite admitting to all the accusations, he claimed in court that he was forced by police officers to make such confessions.

Although many regarded the verdict as a harsh one, it is clear that the court wanted to set an example for others by Sayed’s judgment. This is the second case in Egypt’s history in which a sexual harasser received a prison sentence. In October, Sherif Gomaa Gibrial was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor for harassing a 27-year-old filmmaker.

Sexual harassment on the streets has become a growing phenomenon in Egypt. Many women, especially foreigners, have reported physical or verbal attacks. On most previous occasions, women were blamed for allegedly wearing revealing clothes that invited and provoked harassers.

Islam, followed by more than 85% of the country’s population, prohibits sexual relations between unmarried couples. With marriage expenses climbing amid the country’s poor economic status, sexual harassment incidents have been on the rise.

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo