The trial for the murder of Egyptian national Marwa el-Sherbiny commences tomorrow in the German city of Dresden. As part of the victim’s legal team, Hamdi Khalifa, head of the Egyptian lawyers syndicate will participate in the proceedings.
The syndicate will present its case throughout 11 sessions, beginning with five sessions for witness testimony, said Khalifa, adding that the syndicate will be in charge of the case in coordination with the Egyptian embassy in Germany.
The Egyptian defense team is demanding a life sentence for the German murderer, Khalifa stated, skeptically referring to accounts in German media sources claiming the assailant is suffering from a psychological disorder. He argued that such allegations will be challenged.
In a related issue, sources affirmed that Farouk Hosni, Egyptian minister of culture will not cancel the performance of the Dresden orchestra in Cairo. He discussed the issue with band members, who according to sources are eager to perform in Egypt and to commemorate el-Sherbiny.
The Ministry of Culture contacted the orchestra to cancel the show fearing the possibility of violence given the emotional nature of the issue, said the sources. However, the orchestra insisted on coming in order to offer consolation to el-Sherbiny’s family and to hold a moment of silence to respect el-Sherbiny and to stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people.
“Personal offenses and relationships between nations are two different matters,” explained Hosni. The law should be the arbiter in such crimes, he replied, in response to the objections of el-Sherbiny’s family
Meanwhile, the Alexandria Pharmacy Syndicate called on Hosni to submit his resignation if he fails to cancel the show, suggesting that he would not have accepted such a provocation if the victim had been his daughter.
German papers examining the trial commented on the strangeness of the accusations and denied the possibility that the killer, Alex Varner, was psychologically ill. The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper described the court as a “fortified castle”, and added that the defendant will be tried at the same spot he committed the crime, in which he stabbed the woman to death in front of her 3-year-old. It is believed that his motive was enmity toward foreigners.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
