Egypt judge confesses to killing his wife

Egyptian Judge Ayman Hajjaj has confessed to murdering his wife, saying it was not premeditated, while the second defendant in the case has denied any wrongdoing.

This came during the first hearing of the trial held yesterday at the Sixth Circuit of the Giza Criminal Court. The next court hearing will take place on 13 August.

The Prosecution said Hajjaj married the victim in secret on 4 December 2016 then married her officially on 24 February 2019.

Hajjaj told the court that 42-year-old Shaimaa Gamal was blackmailing him and had threatened to publish photographs of their marital relationship which she took without his knowledge and asked him for three million Egyptian pounds ($159,000) in return for divorcing him without harming his future and reputation.

However, the public prosecution said investigations revealed that Hajjaj had planned with his friend, Hussein Al-Gharabli, to lure the television presenter to a villa in the Badrashin district, south of the capital Cairo to kill her and mutilate her face with nitric acid so no one could identify her.

According to the prosecution, Al-Gharabli was paid $19,000 to help with the crime.

Hajjaj reported his wife missing in early June after she failed to show up when he went to a mall to pick her up.

The rise of Feminicide – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

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