Notorious criminal ‘Hambolli’ given life sentence

Luxor Criminal Court sentenced the man known as “Khott al-Seid,” Upper Egypt’s most infamous criminal, to 190 years in prison, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported.

Yasser Abdel Qader Ahmed (nicknamed “Al-Hambolli”) was tried in 18 different cases and received a life sentence in five of them, with 10 years imprisonment in two additional cases, and 15 years in three others.

Hambolli and his gang members, including his son Heshmat, were accused of premeditated murder, robbery at gunpoint, terrorizing citizens, and possession of firearms without a license, CNN reported.

Legal sources told privately-owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that this verdict is considered the harshest in the history of the Egyptian courts, adding that according to law, 49-year-old Hambolli will only serve the longest of all sentences, which is a life sentence. 

Hambolli was reportedly shocked as the judge recited the verdict, which took almost five minutes, then he shouted from the cage, “What’s all this.. You don’t have any defendants in this country but me?” 

Hambolli rose to fame after hijacking a tour company’s hot air balloon to push the police to release his son, who was detained to force Hambolli out of hiding.

Hambolli’s criminal history includes the murder of a police inspector and burgling Arab Contractors' company storage areas, as well as the attempted murder of a low-ranking police officer while robbing a gas station in Luxor, Al-Ahram reported.

He managed to escape Qena prison facilities during the security vacuum that took place during the 18 days of Egypt’s January 25 revolution.

He continued to practice illegal activities until he was detained from his house in the Karnak area, in February 2013.