AOHR demands joint investigations into Mariam’s death

CAIRO – 17 March 2018: The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) demanded joint investigations between England and Egypt into Egyptian teenager Mariam Mostafa’s death.

In a press release, the organization condemned the “heinous” crime, which came following a series of attacks that were recently carried out by right-wing extremists, one of which was the attack that resulted in the loss of lives of Muslim worshipers in London, the statement said in reference to the vehicle attack that was aimed at Muslims attending evening prayers in Ramadan last July.

The statement also added that British authorities have not taken sufficient measures to address the hateful treatment dealt to Mostafa and mentioned that the racist attack against the 17-year-old teenager was a long one and authorities failed to interfere.

“The cultural and political measures taken were not enough to prevent segments of British society, including children, from slipping down this degeneration,” the statement added.

The organization welcomes the decision of the Egyptian attorney general to open an investigation into the crime and the decision of Parliament’s chairman of the Human Rights Committee to dispatch a parliamentary delegation to Britain to follow up on the relevant investigations, the statement added.

Egypt’s Minister of Immigration Nabila Makram demanded that the attackers’ penalties be escalated for their brutality, affirming that she mandated her aide for Egyptian communities’ affairs to follow up the case.

“Gen. Samir Taha visited Mariam at the hospital right before her death, and he will follow up on the case with the Egyptian embassy in London,” Makram said on Wednesday, expressing her condolences to the family.

Mostafa’s mother posted a video on social media saying that her daughter was in critical condition due to being brutally beaten by the 10 women. She claimed that the assault was race-motivated, as her daughter didn’t actually know those girls at all and never talked with them before.

“Four months ago, two of the same 10 women abused my daughter in the street with no specific reason. We went to the police station and issued an official complaint; however, nothing happened,” the grieving mother said in the video.

She added that when the 10 women saw her daughter in the street walking alone, they attacked her once again and dragged her some 20 meters in the street. “She managed to get up and run towards one of the buses, but they went after her and started to beat her again. Only one man tried to defend her, but no one else tried to interfere,” the mother said.