Cairo: An Egyptian court has sentenced two people to two years in prison each on charges of bullying in the first such case in the country, legal sources said, amid a reported rise in related incidents.
The misdemeanor court in Giza near Cairo also ordered the two convicts of paying a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh23,255). The case is related to a street attack last month by two young people on a Sudanese child while he was going to a supermarket in Giza’s area of Ard Al Lewa.
An online video of the incident, captured by one defendant on his mobile phone, showed the other throwing stones at the 14-year-old child and making racial taunts about the colour of his skin.
The court also convicted the assailants of stealing the child’s personal belongings.
Earlier this month, the Egyptian government drafted a new article in the penal code about bullying making it an offence punishable by minimum six months in jail and a fine of at least LE10,000 or one of both penalties.
In recent months, Egyptian media has reported several bullying incidents, prompting authorities to launch a campaign joined by celebrities against the offensive practice.
