Port Said Criminal Court said the ruling in the trial of the five-year-old murder and rape victim Zaina Arafa will be issued on 29 December.
The trial session was held on Sunday amid high security, as dozens of Port Said residents rallied.
Court President Ahmed Hamdy Rashad allowed access to lawyers and journalists to the session but emptied the courtroom of other local residents.
The court allowed the first defendant Mahmoud Mohamed’s defense to discuss with prosecution’s witnesses, who were the victim’s neighbors. Witnesses said they joined Zaina’s mother on 13 November in her search for her and that the second defendant Alaa Gomaa looked for her in the stairwell, where they are accused of throwing the victim to her death.
The court heard Mohamed’s defense, who raised skepticism about the witnesses’ testimonies and Mohamed’s mental state. Meanwhile, prosecution demanded imposing harsh penalty on the perpetrators.
Both defendants are accused of luring Arafa to the rooftop and raping her in rotation. Prosecution says they then hit her then with a stick on the head and threw her from the rooftop. She then collided with an air conditioner upon falling. She had fractures and wounds all over the body and passed away while being treated.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
