State Council’s legislative department approved amending provisions of the penal code to increase the penalty of kidnappying to life in prison, which could be stricter if linked to rape or sexual assault of the victims, which would reach the death sentence.
The approval was made over amending article no.290 of the penal code to limit the increasing crimes of abduction and requests of ransoms to release the victims.
The department sent the amendment to cabinet to be submitted to presidency to ratify it.
Several judges recently gave life sentences to suspects accused of abducting children and calling for ransoms to release them. They indicated a life sentence was the highest penalty imposed in such crimes and called for amending the law so death penalty could be approved in kidnapping cases
The government earlier amended the penalty of sexual assault to be life sentence instead of the 15-year sentence, in the wake of frequent incidents that provoked wrath from the public.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
