MP Abed to depart for Britain in June to follow Moustafa’s case

CAIRO – 14 May 2018: Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of Egypt’s Parliament, Alaa Abed, said that he will depart for Britain after Eid Al-Fitr to closely follow the investigation on the death of Egyptian student Mariam Moustafa in Nottingham. The Islamic celebration of Eid Al-Fitr ends on June 17 this year.

Abed stated that the Parliament has been following the updates of Moustafa’s case from the beginning by continuously contacting her parents, adding that the Parliament will carry on its efforts until the perpetrators are arrested and punished.

In late February, Moustafa, an engineering student based in Nottingham, UK, was brutally beaten by 10 British women of African descent. The incident stirred condemnation of both the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and the British Embassy in Cairo.

UK Police said there was no information to suggest the attack was motivated by racial hate, but authorities will "continue to keep an open mind".

A 17-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of "assault occasioning grievous bodily harm" and has been released on bail, CNN reported.

In a statement issued on March 2, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said they are following all of the case’s updates.

Abu Zeid said Egyptian authorities demanded the British authorities to take more serious steps in investigating the abusers, especially that they were captured by the CCTV cameras in the streets and on the bus where the incident took place.

The statement also accused the hospital that received Moustafa following the assault with “negligence”, as they gave her first aid treatment and checked her out while she needed more care; consequently, she went into coma shortly after.

The ministry also hired a lawyer to follow the case’s legal updates, according to the statement.
The victim’s lawyer said that by Moustafa’s death, the case automatically defined itself as a murder case. He also pointed out that the hospital’s report did not name Moustafa as a victim of assault.

He asserted that she was released from the hospital about 25 minutes after the assault although she was still suffering an internal bleeding.

According to him, the 18-year-old girl went into coma due to two brain strokes that forced the brain to stop functioning.

On March 3, Egypt’s Attorney General Nabil Sadek ordered a probe to be launched into the assault. He ordered the International Cooperation Administration of the Public Prosecution to send a letter to the British authorities, asking to be updated on U.K. inquires about the attack and Moustafa’s medical report.

Additional reporting by Mohamed Zain