Death sentence upheld for Alexandria man found guilty of killing teen

The Alexandria Criminal Court upheld the death sentence handed down to Mahmoud Hassan on March 29 after he was found guilty of throwing a teenager to his death off a rooftop in Alexandria’s Sidi Gaber neighborhood last July, reported the state-owned news site Al-Ahram.

In addition to the 19-year-old victim, two other boys suffered critical injuries in the incident, which occurred amidst violent demonstrations backing former President Mohamed Morsi in the aftermath of his ouster by military mandate on July 3. The tragic incident went viral when a video documenting the three victims being thrown from the roof began circulating on social media.

The court sentenced 15 other defendants to 25 years in prison, the maximum allowable by Egyptian law, while 45 others received jail time ranging from 10 to 15 years, for their role in violence in the Sidi Gaber area.

Also on Monday, a misdemeanor court acquitted 169 defendants identified as Morsi supporters who had been tried on charges of breaching curfew, disturbing the peace and inciting riots and violence in Cairo’s Bab al-Shareya district following the deadly dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda Square sit-ins last August, which left over 1,000 dead.

The Alexandria court’s death sentence is the latest in an unprecedented number of death penalties meted out against defendants identified with the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization over the past year. The Minya Criminal Court has sentenced hundreds to death on charges stemming from post-July 3 violence, provoking international condemnation from both human rights groups and heads of state.