CAIRO: Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Saturday refuting accusations in the media that the ministry will not appeal a Dreseden court decision to dismiss a case against German policeman who shot Elwi Okaz, the husband of deceased Marwa El-Sherbini, as he tried to save her from being stabbed to death.
In the statement, the ministry assured that despite Egypt’s respect for the German prosecutor’s decision to close the investigation, the ministry supports Okaz’s appeal.
An Egyptian geneticist, Okaz, was shot in the leg by a guard who mistook him for the attacker who killed his wife. Okaz was also stabbed repeatedly by the killer, Alex Wiens, who was later sentenced to life for El-Sherbini’s murder.
The statement added that the Egyptian embassy in Berlin had commissioned two law firms to defend the case.
“Yes, the ministry is helping but it is very slow, the prosecutor’s decision was on Dec. 27 and till now there was no action, said Tarek El-Sherbini, Marwa’s brother.
On an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Khaled Abu Bakr, El-Sherbini’s lawyer, said: “Elwi is frustrated and cannot accommodate the resolution as he believes that the court cannot imagine how difficult it is, according to egynews.net.
“We are all shocked, especially Elwi, Tarek El-Sherbini told Daily News Egypt. He added that the family expects to win the appeal.
“We appealed against three bodies, the judge who called on Marwa’s witness despite his awareness that her life was under threat; the policeman who shot Elwi, although he could see the blood gushing from his body; and the court’s administration which did not check the criminal’s bag and allowed a knife into the courtroom, added Tarek El-Sherbini.
The German prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday that the guard cannot be charged with unintentional injury or injury due to negligence, explaining that he had allegedly mistaken Okaz for the attacker.
The prosecutor defended his claim, adding that the guard’s position was “very difficult as both the attacker and Okaz were covered in blood when he stormed the courtroom. Moreover, Okaz had snatched the knife from the offender’s hand which suggested to the police officer that he was the “gunslinger.
The guard was not present in the courtroom when El-Sherbini was stabbed, but was in another courtroom to testify in another case. He only rushed to the scene when he heard the noise.
Tarek El-Sherbini told Daily News Egypt that all the family is looking for is to send the cases to court where it will be ruled on according to German law.
According to the prosecutor, the policeman had a few seconds to make a decision to intervene and he was “deceived.
The prosecutor however, concluded that the guard cannot be charged for negligence, noting that his “courageous intervention put an end to the tragic incident.
