Egypt: Stepson hurls stepfather from fifth floor after he raped stepdaughter
Four arrested, charged with murder of man who had allegedly raped his stepdaughter
Abu Dhabi: A family in Egypt is overcome with grief after a murder at their own home. Four suspects have been arrested and charged with murder for allegedly throwing a man from the fifth-floor balcony of an apartment in the Al Basateen district of Cairo, police said.
A young man and three of his relatives were arrested and charged with murder in the death of the man’s stepfather, who was found dead outside the apartment complex, according to the police.
Al Basateen Police Department received a tip-off that a person was flung from the fifth floor of a building to his death in the Faida Kamel area of Al Basateen, Cairo.
Repeated rapes
The police immediately moved to the scene of the incident.
Investigations revealed that a man, with the help of three of his relatives, flung the victim — who was his stepfather — from the fifth floor, because the stepfather had allegedly raped his stepdaughter on multiple occasions.
It was only when the stepdaughter got pregnant that she told her brother that she had been raped repeatedly by her stepfather, police said.
The accused were remanded in police custody, pending referral to the Public Prosecution for further investigation and trial.
This crime can be seen as yet another instance of honour killing, wherein a member of a family is killed by one or more family members on the premise that he or she has brought disrepute to the family. This can also be seen as a type of domestic violence in a very broad sense of the term, though in this case, the nature of the crime allegedly committed by the stepfather was very serious.
The judicial systems in some countries, including Egypt, either do not move with prosecution or dispense with only reduced penalties for murders committed in the name of family honour. Some countries have lighter penalties for crimes committed without premeditation — such as committing a murder immediately upon discovery of adultery — or have provisions for reduced penalties — for instance, a husband who kills a cheating wife, though not necessarily the reverse.