Child Murder and Organ Removal Re-ignite Debate about Heinous Crimes in Egypt
A case involving the murder of an Egyptian child and the removal of his organs has reignited the debate over heinous crimes in Egypt.
The Egyptian Public Prosecution disclosed details of the incident, which involved finding the child's body with its organs removed and placed beside it in Shubra El-Kheima, a suburb near Cairo. On Thursday evening, the prosecution stated, "Investigations revealed that the perpetrator of the child's murder was his neighbor, acting upon a request from an Egyptian resident in Kuwait, whom he met through a social media site dedicated to human organ trade."
According to the Egyptian Public Prosecution's statement, "The accused committed the murder of the child after receiving a promise of five million Egyptian pounds (with one US dollar equaling 47.90 Egyptian pounds at Egyptian banks); the accused selected his victim and showcased him to the resident in Kuwait through a video call. The Kuwaiti resident then instructed him to kill the child as a precursor to the organ theft, which was also to be transmitted via video call. He was informed that the subsequent steps would be communicated to him after the act. However, after carrying out the requested act, he was instructed to repeat it with another child to receive the agreed amount. The perpetrator was apprehended before he could proceed with this."
The statement further mentioned, "The Egyptian Prosecution's inspection did not uncover any medical equipment indicating that the purpose was human organ trafficking." Moreover, the prosecution found out about the Egyptian resident in Kuwait, who used a mobile phone with a SIM card registered to his father for the crime. Following the instructions of the Egyptian Attorney General, the "International Cooperation Administration" at his office contacted the relevant authorities in Kuwait and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), leading to the arrest of the suspect and his father and the seizure of their electronic devices. They were then extradited to Egypt.
Upon interrogation of the resident in Kuwait and his father, "The primary suspect (15 years old) admitted to instructing the crime's perpetrator, aiming to keep visual recordings of the child's murder and the desecration of his body, with the goal of potentially selling and distributing them online for substantial amounts of money. He also admitted to having previously engaged in similar acts."
The incident, occurring on Thursday and Friday, shocked Egyptians and reminded them of previous "heinous murder crimes." These included a husband in Qalyubia Governorate, adjacent to Cairo, who "killed his wife, set her and the house on fire after she requested a divorce last October," and a "husband who strangled his wife and children in Dakahlia Governorate (in Egypt's Delta) last January due to family disputes." Additionally, in September last year, a young man in Port Said Governorate "slit his sister's throat in the street because he objected to her engagement."
Dr. Gamal Farweez, a professor of psychiatry in Egypt, believes that the "repetition of heinous crimes" indicates an "increase in personality disorders and a lack of maturity, especially in the age group supposed to transition from childhood to youth (the age of the child instigator residing in Kuwait)." He mentioned to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" that "spending long hours on social media platforms in the absence of parental supervision and guidance frequently leads to legal issues for children." Farweez explained that "children's exposure to numerous videos, witnessing unusual activities and profiting from them, and the success of some online figures in making significant money, all in the absence of a family role, leads these children to become victims of such videos."
The murder case of the “Shubra El-Kheima child,” which has gained media attention, dominated social media in Egypt on Friday, with the public interacting extensively with the "Egyptian Public Prosecution’s statement." An account under the name "Ahmed Mohamed" commented on the incident on "X" (formerly Twitter), stating that "murder videos are being recorded and sold to the dark web."
Translation:
Translated by AI
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