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Egyptian Businessman Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking

Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Amin. (Facebook)
Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Amin. (Facebook)
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Egyptian Businessman Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking

Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Amin. (Facebook)
Egyptian businessman, Mohamed Al-Amin. (Facebook)

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Monday renowned Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Amin to three years in prison and fined him 200,000 Egyptian pounds after finding him guilty of human trafficking.

His case was exposed in January while his first trial was in March.

Al-Amin is a media and real estate tycoon who owned and managed several television channels and newspapers in Egypt.

The prosecution had referred Al-Amin’s case to the criminal court last February. It found him guilty of human trafficking when he exploited seven girls at an orphanage he founded in the southern Beni Suef province and of sexually assaulting the victims and threatening them with violence.

The referral came after hearing the testimonies of 13 eyewitnesses, the confessions of the victims, the examination of the defendant’s mobile phone, the Forensic Authority’s reports, the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood and the physiological and social research department at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

The prosecutor-general’s office said in a statement that Al-Amin housed the victims in the orphanage for the purpose of sexually abusing them.

During the investigations, the exploited girls testified against Al-Amin.

Evidence collected from the his mobile phone contained a number of photos of the victims that revealed he was with them and proved he frequently visited the orphanage.

The owner of the Facebook page Atfal Mafqooda (Lost Children) had presented evidence, releasing a recording of one of the girls describing the abuse she endured.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity intervened in the case, pledging to respond with full force to any violations at social welfare institutions.

The Ministry said it will not hesitate in referring such cases immediately to the Public Prosecution for necessary action against the perpetrators, regardless of their positions.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.