The Egyptian Public Prosecution referred on Saturday five defendants to trial at the competent juvenile, misdemeanor and criminal courts over assaulting a police officer at Cairo’s Maadi area – amid other felonies.
The incident back in November sparked public outrage on social media, when a video showing the 13 year-old son of a judge driving a car and assaulting a police officer made its rounds on a number of online platform.
Police apprehended the boy the day after the video went viral, as public anger mounted over his entitlement and disregard for the law.
The Public Prosecution’s statement on Saturday charged the defendants with attaining narcotics with the intent to abuse, insulting a policeman, assaulting him and violating family principles in Egyptian society.
The statement added that the defendants created, managed and used private accounts on the internet with the aim of committing and facilitating these crimes, and that the first defendant drove a vehicle without a license.
The prosecution also referred the owner of the aforementioned car to the competent misdemeanor court as punishment for enabling the other defendants.
Following interrogations, prosecutors initially handed the boy over to his parents and acquitted him of all charges, on the condition that they correct his behavior.
The boy’s father, who is a judge, made a public apology for his son’s behavior, saying that no one in Egypt is above the law.
Another video of the boy surfaced the same week, shown riding a car and throwing eggs at the face of a pedestrian.
The additional video and mild punishment the boy received from authorities further enraged social media users.
The child and four other defendants were apprehended again and have tested positive for illegal drugs after undergoing a urinalysis test.
