EGYPT: QENA COURT GIVES PRELIMINARY DEATH SENTENCE TO 25 IN ASWAN TRIBAL FEUD

May 11, 2016: Upper Egypt’s Qena criminal court sentenced 25 to a preliminary death sentence in relation to a tribal feud in 2014 between two families that left at least 28 dead in Aswan.
The defendants’ death sentences will be sent to the country’s Mufti for preliminary consideration. The Mufti’s decision is non-binding.
The court’s final verdict, once the Mufti’s decision is deliberated, can still be appealed.
The violence started in April 2014 between an Arab clan, Bani Helal, and a Nubian tribe, Daboudiya, reportedly over the harassment of a girl and offensive graffiti.
The fighting lasted a few days until authorities intervened to broker a truce, and promised justice for the slain from both tribes.
Revenge killings are commonplace in Upper Egypt, often over perceived honour-related issues. (Sources: english.ahram.org.eg, 11/05/2016)