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Egypt Welcomes Life Sentence for ‘Veil Martyr’ Killer | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – Egypt on Wednesday welcomed a decision by a Dresden court to jail a man for life for the murder of an Egyptian woman, saying it “served justice,” in a case that sparked outrage in the Muslim world.

“The verdict, the maximum punishment under German law, serves justice and is considered a warning to those motivated by hate,” foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement.

He said relations between Egypt and Germany “stand on good ground, based on cooperation, and are too strong to be affected by a crime of this sort.”

Zaki also warned Egyptian, Arabic and Islamic media to be objective in their coverage of the case in order not to affect the millions of Arabs and Muslims who live in Western countries.

Russian-born German Alex Wiens, 28, was found guilty of murdering Marwa el-Sherbini, 31, an Egyptian woman living in Germany.

On July 1, in the same courthouse, Wiens stabbed Sherbini, who wore an Islamic headscarf and was three-months pregnant with her second child, at least 16 times.

Her three-year-old son Mustafa watched her bleed to death at the scene.

Sherbini’s husband, Egyptian geneticist Elwy Okaz, rushed to her aid but was also stabbed repeatedly and then shot in the leg by a police officer who was unsure who the attacker was

The killing, as well as a slow reaction from Germany’s politicians and media, sparked outrage in Sherbini’s home country, and in the wider Muslim world.