Egyptian Court Sentences Street-Gang Leaders "al-Tourbini" and "Hanata" to Death for Killing Street Children
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour and Farag Samir Mahmoud had confessed to raping and killing children who lived on the streets. The case had caused public outrage.
Published
The case of the street children killed by a gang led by a man called "al-Tourbini" provoked outrage across Egypt. On May 23, 2007, a criminal court in Tanta sentenced the gang's two leaders to death.
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour, 27, known as al-Tourbini, and Farag Samir Mahmoud, 25, known as Hanata, were convicted of raping and murdering street children and of illegally possessing weapons. The judge in Tanta, about 55 miles north of Cairo, referred the verdict to Egypt's Grand Mufti for an advisory opinion, a legal step before a death sentence becomes final. Other defendants in the case were sentenced to between three and 40 years in prison.
The case came to light in November 2006, when the body of a child was found in a tunnel in Shubra al-Khaimah. Police arrested seven suspects, including Mansour and Mahmoud, and both men later confessed to raping and killing children in six different cities. They were hanged on December 16, 2010.
A wire report in 2007 said the two men had confessed to raping and murdering 20 street children, while Egypt Independent reported in 2010 that they had been convicted of raping and murdering eight.
Sources
- World News Quick Take: Gang leaders get death, Taipei Times (wire)
- Convicted child rapists, murderers executed by state, Egypt Independent