Egypt: Murderer of Alexandria Priest Receives Death Sentence

Father Arsanios Wadeed Rizkallah, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Karmouz (Twitter)
Father Arsanios Wadeed Rizkallah, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Karmouz (Twitter)
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Egypt: Murderer of Alexandria Priest Receives Death Sentence

Father Arsanios Wadeed Rizkallah, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Karmouz (Twitter)
Father Arsanios Wadeed Rizkallah, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Karmouz (Twitter)

An Egyptian criminal court on Saturday sentenced to death by hanging the defendant in the murder of Father Arsanios Wadeed Rizkallah, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Karmouz.

Last month, the criminal court in Alexandria asked the country’s top mufti, the highest religious authority for Islam, to weigh in on the case of the defendant who is accused of stabbing to death the Coptic Christian priest.

A decision from Grand Mufi Shawky Allam on whether the suspect should be given the death penalty and executed is a non-binding opinion, but it significantly influences the court’s ruling.

During previous sessions, the court examined videos of surveillance cameras, which monitored the accused during his attack on the victim on the evening of 7 April as he was walking along the Mediterranean corniche in Alexandria’s Sidi Bishr District.

The priest’s killing had sparked widespread discontent in Egypt while security and judicial authorities began investigations.

The Coptic Orthodox Church said the victim was attacked with a sharp object in the neck.

Several Islamic institutions, including Egypt’s Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb offered their condolences to Head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros and Christians over the murder of Arsanios Wadid.

Initially, the accused confessed to attacking Arsonios, but he later claimed that he was not conscious while committing the crime and that he suffered from mental disorders ten years ago that affect his actions.

Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hamada el Sawy had ordered jailing the accused pending investigations, along with placing him under medical observation in a public hospital specialized in the mental diseases.

But after listening to the testimonial of nearly 17 eyewitnesses of the incident and receiving the reports of the Forensic Medicine Authority and the Alexandria Poison Center regarding the anatomical characterization of the victim’s body, Egypt’s Prosecutor ordered referring the accused man to the criminal court for trial.



EU, UN Agree on Importance of Libya Ceasefire

EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando meets head of UNSMIL with Hanna Tetteh. Photo released by Orlando on X
EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando meets head of UNSMIL with Hanna Tetteh. Photo released by Orlando on X
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EU, UN Agree on Importance of Libya Ceasefire

EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando meets head of UNSMIL with Hanna Tetteh. Photo released by Orlando on X
EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando meets head of UNSMIL with Hanna Tetteh. Photo released by Orlando on X

The United Nations rights office called on Wednesday for an independent investigation into the discovery of mass graves at detention centers in Libya's capital Tripoli as the European Union Ambassador to Libya said he agreed with the UN that “no effort should be spared to preserve the ceasefire and prevent a return to violence.”

EU Ambassador Nicola Orlando said he discussed with Hanna Tetteh, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), “views on our respective outreach to Libyan and international partners.”

He said they discussed “the next steps” in the political process facilitated by UNSMIL, “including how the EU can best support her efforts at this delicate juncture for Libya.”

He “reiterated the EU’s strong backing for her facilitation and commended the renewed sense of urgency she has brought through her consultations.”

Orlando said he “stressed the need for all key actors to engage constructively with UNSMIL and avoid uncoordinated initiatives.”

Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR ) said it was "shocked" by gross human rights violations uncovered at official and unofficial detention facilities in Libya.

OHCHR said the discovery of dozens of bodies and suspected instruments of torture and abuse confirmed longstanding findings by the UN that human rights violations were committed at such sites.

"We call on the Libyan authorities to conduct independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these discoveries," OHCHR said in a statement. It urged the authorities to preserve evidence and grant Libya's forensic teams, as well as the United Nations, full access to the sites.