EGYPT: COURT REFERS PRELIMINARY DEATH SENTENCE FOR POLICEMAN CONVICTED OF MURDER TO GRAND MUFTI FOR REVIEW

February 6, 2019:

A criminal court in Minya on 2 February 2019 said that it is seeking the grand mufti’s opinion on a preliminary death sentence for a police officer who was convicted of killing a Christian man and his son last December.
In an official statement in December, the prosecution said police sergeant Rabie Mostafa Khalifa, who was assigned to guard the Church of Nahdet El-Qadasa, had been referred to court in an emergency session for killing Emad Kamal and his son David.
On 2 February, the court designate 2 April for the final verdict.
The prosecution charged Khalifa with the premeditated murder of the two men using his service weapon after reviewing CCTV footage from the scene of the crime.
The prosecution said that Khalifa confessed to the crime, but did not reveal a motive. The prosecution said that the killing was sparked due to a "verbal altercation."