Son of prominent businessman's lawyers detained for attempting to manipulate Egypt's justice system

CAIRO – 16 December 2021: Two lawyers of the son of a prominent businessman had their detention renewed on Wednesday for allegedly posing as prosecutors and attempting to illegally obtain CCTV that recorded a high-profile car accident in which their client killed four boys.

Karim el-Hawary, the defendant, was driving an Aston Martin when he hit the victims’ car, killing the four inside, all below 18 except for the driver, who was just past 18 himself. CCTV installed at a nearby house in the upscale city of Sheikh Zayed just outside Cairo showed the accident and the high speed at which Hawary was driving when he hit another car from behind. Hawary survived but remains at hospital with police guarding his room.

The owner of the house said two men went to the house, pretending to be prosecutors and asked him for the CCTV. He refused and reported them to the police. They denied the charges, including impersonation and attempting to tamper with evidence, but confirmed they visited the man. They said they visited to take pictures of the cameras and then ask the prosecution to include the recordings in the investigation.

Egypt’s prosecution referred Hawary to the criminal court on Monday over charges of manslaughter while driving under the influence.

The first court session in Hawari’s trial is set to be held early in January.

Hawari will stand before the Giza Criminal Court over accusations of manslaughter associated with negligence, recklessness and drug use while driving his car in Sheikh Zayed City.

Per investigations, the Public Prosecution charged him with committing the felony of possessing the substance of cocaine drug with the intent to abuse, and that he mistakenly caused the death of four people, including three children, and that was as a result of his negligence, carelessness and lack of caution, and failure to adhere to the laws, by driving a car at a high speed under the influence of the use of the aforementioned narcotic and another intoxicant without taking into account the distance between him and the victims’ car.

Surveillance cameras in the accident area were retrieved and footage showing Hawary driving his car at a very high speed, and hitting another car from behind, toppling it in a deadly crash that caused the death of the passengers of the second car.

The Public Prosecution had attached to the referral order the evidence confirming that the accused committed the crimes attributed to him, which included the testimony of six eyewitnesses, of whom two saw the incident as concluded by the Public Prosecution’s investigations, as well as the forensic doctor who examined the sample taken from the accused, which tested positive to drug abuse; cocaine and ethyl alcohol.