The Alexandria Criminal Court adjourned on Monday its final verdict in the case of a liquor store owner, who was murdered while sitting outside his shop, to March 9 as the court awaiting the opinion of Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawky Allam.
In accordance with the law, the court sent the death penalty verdict to Allam for his opinion on whether or not Sharia law is applicable in this case. The Mufti’s opinion almost always comes in favor of the judge’s verdict.
The suspect, Adel Soliman, pleaded guilty in the court's first session on Saturday. "If I had the chance to kill all liquor sellers, I would have done so," he said.
Soliman killed Youssef Lamei on January 2 and was arrested two days later. He gave a detailed confession crime upon arrest by the police. The defendant said he cut the victim's neck because he sells alcohol, which is prohibited in Islam.
The victim's son, Tony Lamei, was present at the scene when his father was killed. “I saw my father being murdered,” he said.
The son told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday: "A bearded man, as he appeared on surveillance cameras, was waiting for my father to come and open the store so he could kill him."
"We followed the criminal but he raised his knife and then ran away,” he added
One camera showed Soliman pull out a large knife and attack Lamei, who was sitting smoking shisha outside his store. The victim did not resist.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
