Egypt: Military doctor charged with attempted murder for allegedly running over a family following dispute

A military doctor has been charged with intentional homicide and attempted murder after he allegedly ran over a family of five, killing the mother and severely injuring the father and three children.

According to local news reports, the family were on holiday in Cairo where they own a villa. Basma Zaki was a pharmacist working for the Ministry of Health in Kuwait, and the three kids are 11, 9 and 7. Basma’s husband, Hamdan Zaki, works for a pharmaceutical company also in Kuwait.

Following Basma’s death, news reports circulated that the incident was a tragic accident. However, the incident was captured on CCTV.

The graphic video, which was shared on social media, shows the car driving at speed into the driveway and a family member bouncing off the bonnet, before it reverses back out again.

READ: Russia detains Egyptian citizen who desecrated Quran 

Egyptian Streets reports that the incident happened following a dispute between the driver and the father in Madinaty in northeast Cairo.

According to BBC Arabic the couple’s eldest son bumped into the military doctor’s car with a scooter, scratched it and the family went to his house to apologise to him. Instead, an argument escalated which resulted in the doctor running the family over.

The doctor allegedly handed himself into the First Settlement Police Station and has now been referred to an urgent criminal trial at the Military Criminal Court.

Social media users called for justice for Basma and questioned whether the military doctor would be held accountable given that in the past senior military officers have been shielded from prosecution.

Last year, Egypt issued a new decree granting immunity to all members of the country’s armed forces, which stipulated that the Ministry of Defence was the number one sovereign ministry in the country and its officers and soldiers have complete immunity.

In 2012, an army doctor was acquitted of forcing a virginity test on a pro-democracy protester and she challenged the military over how she was treated in prison. So close to the Egyptian revolution, activists said it set the tone for whether soldiers accused of attacking demonstrators would be convicted.