Faisal Ali Addabi

Summary of merits of the case:
In June 2022, the first accused, Ayman Haggag (a judge) decided to murder his wife, Shaima Gamal (Egyptian TV presenter), he made a plan for the murder with his accomplice, the second accused Hussein Al-Garabli after promising to pay him a large amount of money, and for the purpose of committing the crime, they bought excavation tools for digging the grave, a pistol, a piece of cloth, iron chains and incendiary material in order to deform the corpse.

In accordance with Giza Criminal Court statement, Judge Haggag had lured his wife to a remote farm where he had already dug a grave. Then the judge hit Shaima on the head by the handle of the pistol and strangled her to death while Al-Garabli was holding her and preventing her from moving. Thereafter, they put the corpse in the grave and doused it with chemicals so that the forensic experts could not identify the body.

Summary of the procedures and judgment
The Egyptian Public Prosecutor referred this case, which shocked the Egyptian public opinion, to Giza Criminal Court. During the investigation, ten witnesses testified against the two accused and provided evidence proving their preparation for the crime, one of the witnesses was the merchant from whom they bought the excavation tools, Haggag alleged that his wife threatened to disclose the secret of their marriage and blackmailed him and that he killed his wife in self-defense but the court rejected all his allegations, finally, the two accused confessed to murdering Shaima.

The court convicted the two accused of premeditated murder, issued a preliminary death sentence against the two accused and referred it to Egypt’s Grand Mufti who had approved the death sentence of Judge Ayman Haggag and his accomplice. On 11 September 2022, Jiza Criminal Court issued the final verdict and sentenced the convicted judge and his accomplice to death by hanging. It is worth mentioning that those sentenced to death can appeal to Egyptian Court of Cassation within 60 days from the judgment date of issue.

Legal opinion on the case
Legal warning: crime is useless, in most cases, criminals are arrested, tried, convicted and penalized. In this particular case, we notice that the four legal elements of the crime of premeditated murder, which are criminal intent, criminal act, causation link and non-availability of any legal defense on the two accused’s side, have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore, the final verdict is completely correct as it has been issued in line with the applicable law and in accordance with a good weight of evidence.

Faisal Ali Addabi\Advocate