An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced an Uber driver to 5 years in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds for causing the death of Habiba al-Shamaa, a young woman from Ash-Sharqiya Governorate. The court acquitted him of the kidnapping charge.
Previously, the criminal court had sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison, but he appealed the verdict.
Habiba al-Shamaa died on March 14th after jumping from the Uber driver’s car following an incident.
The public prosecution referred the defendant to the criminal court, charging him with attempted kidnapping, possession of cannabis, and driving under the influence of drugs.
The public prosecution stated that the first person to witness the incident and attempt to rescue the victim testified that the girl had told him that the driver had tried to kidnap her.
The prosecution’s investigations also revealed that the Uber driver had received several complaints during his work with the company, including one from a woman who claimed that the driver had sexually harassed her.
According to the legal representative of Uber, the defendant’s account had been previously blocked by the company due to numerous complaints from users. However, he created another account using a different national ID number to continue using the app.
The prosecution stated in a statement that it had obtained a copy of the documents related to the forgery incident and had reviewed the complaints filed against the defendant with the company. One complaint alleged that the driver had sexually harassed a woman.
