Dubai: A Kuwaiti court has sentenced an Egyptian preacher to five years in prison, followed by deportation, after he was found guilty of sexually harassing three minor girls under the pretext of performing religious healing rituals.
The preacher had convinced the girls' father that he would use "roquia," a legitimate form of spiritual healing from the Quran, to cure the girls of envy.
The unsettling incident came to light when the father brought his daughters to the preacher's residence in Mahboula for treatment. The girls left the preacher's house in tears, revealing to their father that they had been sexually harassed by the man, who was supposed to help them.
Shocked by the revelations, the father filed a report with the Ministry of Interior, triggering an investigation into the preacher's conduct. After examining the evidence, the case was transferred to the prosecution and subsequently to the Criminal Court.
Upon finding the defendant guilty of the allegations against him, the court handed down a sentence of five years in prison, to be followed by deportation.
