A Kuwaiti criminal court sentenced a Kuwaiti man to life in prison on Tuesday for the murder of Egyptian expatriate Ahmed Atef.
Atef was repeatedly run over by the defendant’s vehicle as a result of a fight between Egyptian shop workers and two Kuwaitis in an electronics shop in Rehab Mall in Kuwait in November.
The dispute allegedly broke out after the two Kuwaiti men disagreed about the pricing of a Playstation console with the Egyptian shop worker Ahmed Amin. The men wanted to buy the console at half the price, but Amin refused. They then reportedly began to insult Amin, who asked them to vacate the shop.
Relatives of the victims told Daily News Egypt previously that the dispute escalated and moved outside the mall, where another Kuwaiti citizen got into his vehicle and, allegedly, repeatedly ran over Atef, who was also involved in the altercation, killing him.
Security forces in Kuwait arrested 14 Kuwaitis and Egyptians who got involved in the incident, as well as the driver of the vehicle.
This is not the first case of an Egyptian expat being harmed in Kuwait. In May, a video surfaced of a Kuwaiti man stripping and assaulting Egyptian expatriate Ashraf Abou El-Yameen.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement highlighting their confidence in Kuwaiti authorities, maintaining that Egyptians’ safety and dignity is their top priority.
El-Yameen was summoned by Kuwaiti authorities to begin investigations into the incident; a verdict is yet to be announced.
