Egyptian wearing hijab killed in German court drama
By Daily News Egypt with additional reporting by AFP
First Published: July 3, 2009
CAIRO: A woman stabbed to death in a German court was an Egyptian who had sued her attacker after he insulted her for wearing the Islamic headscarf, local newspapers reported on Friday.
Marwa Aal-Sherbini, 32, who was killed in a court in Dresden on Wednesday, was the wife of Egyptian academic Elwi Ali Okaz who was also hurt in the incident and is now in critical condition in hospital, the state-owned Al-Akhbar reported.
Husband Okaz was in Germany on a scholarship through Menufiya University’s institute of Genetic Engineering. He is still unaware that his wife had died.
The attacker stabbed Sherbini “shortly before she was to give evidence in an appeal lodged by the man against a conviction for insulting her over wearing the hijab,” said the state-owned Egyptian Gazette.
The 28-year-old man, identified only as Axel W., was overpowered and was being investigated for manslaughter over the killing of the woman, a spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor’s office said.
Axel W. was previously found guilty and fined €2,800 in civil compensation for calling the victim a “terrorist” in August 2008 in a Dresden park because she was wearing a headscarf.
Magdi Al-Sayed, press officer at the German embassy in Cairo, said the case was isolated and did not reflect German attitude towards Muslims.
“It is a criminal act. It has nothing to do with persecution against Muslims,” Sayed told the Gazette.
Woman killed in courtroom bloodbath was pregnant
Published: 3 Jul 09 11:42 CET
A woman stabbed to death in a Dresden courtroom was three months pregnant, reported German newspaper Bild on Friday.
According to Egyptian newspapers, the woman was Marwa al-Sherbini, a 32-year-old Egyptian national who was suing her attacker after he insulted her for wearing the Islamic headscarf. The attacker, identified only as Alex W., was appealing the €780 fine he was ordered to pay in the libel suit.
Al-Sherbini was the wife of Egyptian academic Elwi Ali-Okaz. He was also hurt in the incident after he tried to help his wife and is in critical condition in hospital. Police are now investigating Alex W. for manslaughter.
“The investigation into this bloody crime is bound to show there are some indications the suspect was hostile toward foreigners – the signs are there,” said Saxony police chief Bernd Merbitz told Bild.
Magdi al-Sayed, press officer at the German embassy in Cairo, said the case was isolated and did not reflect German attitude towards Muslims.
"It is a criminal act. It has nothing to do with persecution against Muslims," Sayed told the Egyptian state newspaper The Gazette.
The stabbing happened July 1, just before al-Sherbini was to give her evidence. During the struggle, other bystanders were also injured and police fired a shot. Al-Sherbini died in the courtroom.
The 28-year-old attacker was overpowered and is now under investigation for manslaughter, a spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor's office said.
Chairman of the German judge federation Christoph Frank is now demanding that safety and security measures must be brought up to standard.
“Each individual law court must be examined and security infrastructure put in place to better protect citizens,” he said to the Bild.
The incident recalled a similar scene of courtroom violence in the Bavarian town of Landshut in April, when a 60-year-old man shot his sister-in-law before turning the gun on himself, following an inheritance ruling.
Published: 3 Jul 09 11:42 CET
A woman stabbed to death in a Dresden courtroom was three months pregnant, reported German newspaper Bild on Friday.
According to Egyptian newspapers, the woman was Marwa al-Sherbini, a 32-year-old Egyptian national who was suing her attacker after he insulted her for wearing the Islamic headscarf. The attacker, identified only as Alex W., was appealing the €780 fine he was ordered to pay in the libel suit.
Al-Sherbini was the wife of Egyptian academic Elwi Ali-Okaz. He was also hurt in the incident after he tried to help his wife and is in critical condition in hospital. Police are now investigating Alex W. for manslaughter.
“The investigation into this bloody crime is bound to show there are some indications the suspect was hostile toward foreigners – the signs are there,” said Saxony police chief Bernd Merbitz told Bild.
Magdi al-Sayed, press officer at the German embassy in Cairo, said the case was isolated and did not reflect German attitude towards Muslims.
"It is a criminal act. It has nothing to do with persecution against Muslims," Sayed told the Egyptian state newspaper The Gazette.
The stabbing happened July 1, just before al-Sherbini was to give her evidence. During the struggle, other bystanders were also injured and police fired a shot. Al-Sherbini died in the courtroom.
The 28-year-old attacker was overpowered and is now under investigation for manslaughter, a spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor's office said.
Chairman of the German judge federation Christoph Frank is now demanding that safety and security measures must be brought up to standard.
“Each individual law court must be examined and security infrastructure put in place to better protect citizens,” he said to the Bild.
The incident recalled a similar scene of courtroom violence in the Bavarian town of Landshut in April, when a 60-year-old man shot his sister-in-law before turning the gun on himself, following an inheritance ruling.
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