Journalist Mayada Ashraf rests in peace after murderers convicted

CAIRO - 11 February 2018: The Cairo Criminal Court concluded the case of the murder of reporter Mayada Ashraf — where the defendants faced charges of killing her, a child and a Christian woman — after handing down various sentences against the culprits.

The convicts, 47 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group, received on Sunday verdicts from the court, ranging from acquittals to lifetime imprisonment.

A total of 17 defendants were sentenced to 25 years in prison, a further nine were sentenced to 15 years, three were sentenced to seven years, and a three-year prison sentence was handed down to three others. The final 15 defendants were acquitted of murder charges and inciting violence.

The court delayed its session set for September 27, 2017, because some members of the defense team were not present.

Ashraf, a reporter with the daily newspaper Al-Dostor, was shot dead on March 28, 2014, in the Cairo suburb of Ain Shams while covering clashes between security forces and MB protesters, alongside two other civilians: Sherif Abdel Raouf, a child who was shot in the head during the violence, and Mary George, who died of a gunshot to the chest while in her car.

Ashraf’s death stirred controversy and the public’s resentment against violent acts by the MB, which broke out after the ouster of MB president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, in an attempt for reinstating his regime.

The case was considered by the anti-terrorism court of South Cairo Criminal Court. The first trial session took place on September 15, 2015, at the Police Academy, where defendants faced charges of murder, attempted murder, possessing unlicensed weapons and ammunition, joining an unlawful group as well as vandalizing public and private properties.

Ashraf’s family expressed their dissatisfaction of the verdict. Her brother, Mohamed Ashaf, said they were expecting a death sentence against the murderers of his sister.

“I was hoping to sentence them to death, but now we are waiting for divine justice,” Mohamed told Al-Dostor newspaper on Sunday, following the court’s verdict. “Our whole village was waiting for the verdict, after four years of her death,” he added.

Throughout the 48-session trial, the prosecution managed to prove the charges against the defendants, who admitted to forming specified committees of armed men as a military wing of the prohibited Islamist group. They also admitted targeting media workers and Christians during the riots.

During the trial, Ashraf’s father submitted a request to the court to include the former Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim among the defendants, which the court ignored.

Prosecutors probing the case pointed out that the MB terror group and the so-called "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" had formed specialized committees to group armed men who would serve in the group’s military wing.

Those committees were formed to target journalists and prevent them from unveiling MB crimes. They also aimed to target Christian citizens to destroy the national fabric and create chaos, according to a prosecution statement. They also acted to target government institutions aiming to topple the state.

The MB was declared a terrorist group later in 2013, following the bombing of several governmental buildings, such as the Cairo Security Directorate.

The MB has long been considered a banned group. Since its establishment in 1928, it went public for the first time after founding its first political party "Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)" following the 2011 revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. The party was later dispersed, and most MB leaders, including the supreme guide, were arrested and tried over terrorism as well as murder-related crimes.