Teenager murder case: Main defendant proven minor, max. penalty to be 15 yrs

CAIRO – 27 October 2019: The second court hearing in the teenager murder case kicked off on Sunday, and new evidence ascertained the main defendant in the case a minor, maintaining the trial to be held in a juvenile court.

Mohamed Rageh is said to be less than 18 years old, according to the official documents submitted to the court, said Abdel Aziz Noseir, the lawyer of the victim Mahmoud el-Banna who was stabbed to death by Rageh earlier this month.

Accordingly, the maximum prison term Rageh might receive is 15 years.

"No accused person would be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or forced labor if, at the time of committing the crime, he did not reach the age of 18 years," reads Article 111 of the Child Law of 2008.

During the hearing, the court watched video evidence for footages showing the attack on El-Banna by four young men, including Rageh. The CCTV video supported the eye-witnesses' testimonies about the incident, as it showed Banna being chased by the other teens near his house.

A forensic doctor gave his testimonies about the death of Banna, explaining that the stab El-Banna took in the left thigh resulted in bleeding as it hit the sciatic artery, which leads to death in less than 20 minutes.

Held in Menoufia governorate, the hearing has witnessed heightened security measures surrounding Shbein el-Koum Court.

The accident took place when a group of teens harassed a girl in the street in Tala village in Menoufia governorate; the act stirred El-Banna’s anger, pushing him to interfere to defend the girl and condemn the boys. Later, El-Banna felt triggered to make a statement about the incident on his Facebook account, although he did not mention the boys’ names, describing the sexual harassment acts as “not manly."

Night fell on a different village after Rageh induced Banna into a fight; he grabbed him while the second defendant puffed a burning material in his face. El-Banna’s friends heard his screams, and managed to rescue him, but he was chased back all the way to his home. The third defendant threatened El-Banna with a knife, while Rageh injured him in his cheeks and then stabbed him in his left thigh.

Social media users were moved by El-Banna's pictures, and inundated by the mourning posts; angry users called to bring perpetrators to justice. Hashtags like Rageh is a killer, Execute Rageh, and Bring Mahmoud El-Banna’s Right went viral.

The killing of Banna sent shocking waves across the country, with rising calls for the execution of the murderers of the “Martyr of Chivalry.”