The “thug of the collection” lawyer questions his client’s mental health

The case of the murder of 3 women and the dumping of their bodies in the desert in Egypt, known in the media as the “thug of the gathering” case, has taken a new turn, after the lawyer of the accused, Karim Selim begged. “the court’s answer.” He also asked about his client’s mental and emotional health, demanding that he be referred to a forensic and psychiatric doctor.

Lawyer Marwan Salem, the defendant’s representative, said that his client suffered from mental illness, which affected his behavior and caused him to have certain thoughts in his mind that made to get addicted to drugs, attack women and kill them.

He demanded that his client be brought before the Department of Forensic Medicine again, and the Department of Psychiatry, and that he undergo psychological tests, to find out the extent of his mental health in order to prove that guilty or not, according to local media reports.

The “congregation offender” was taken to the Criminal Court in Case No. 3962 of 2024, on charges of intentionally killing 3 women, possession of narcotics, and human trafficking. 2023, April 8, and May 15 ) 2024, killed the victims “Noura,” “Rahma” and “Amira” in Katameya Police Station (east of Cairo), by luring them to his house and giving them drugs, then he suffocated them until they breathed their last in his arms, then he slept with their bodies.

The prosecutor described the accused as “he committed a great sin and a great abomination,” and demanded that he be given the maximum punishment for committing the crimes of murder and mutilation. and that he was inspired by porn videos on the “Dark Web,” and that he liked the idea of ​​relationships with dead people.

The trial saw many surprises, including the resignation of all members of the security team assigned by the accused’s family to protect him, after watching videos of the accused and his victims in ‘each of the lawyers said, in the televised reports after watching the Conference, that when the first videos started playing, everyone was surprised, and they did decided to get off before watching all the videos.

Legal expert Heba Adel, president of the Egyptian Women Lawyers Foundation for Women’s Rights, said, “This case raised a lot of public opinion and caused a state of panic in the public due to surprise and confusion.”

He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “Regarding the request for a court response presented by the defendant’s defense in the past, it could be a new attempt to find time and prolong the trial due to the exhaustion of law. to say that, especially because the application was not based on the law.”

Heba went on to say: “The court has the special power to accept protection requests or not in order to achieve justice, and according to the substance of the requests sent and the extent of their effect in achieving justice and the conduct of the case. due to the fact that these requests are not considered as an obstacle to the decision of the case, especially because of the known crime and the abundant evidence.”

The president of the Egyptian Women Lawyers Foundation expressed his hope that the court will issue a decision that prohibits the publication and secrecy of the case, so as not to provoke and confuse public opinion, he continued: ” The accused should not be a public example of a crime that is talked about every day, and his criminal plans that human nature refuses to accept are only publicized.”

Egypt saw many crimes that affected public opinion for a long time, and the claim was mental well-being or mental disorder, including the case of the “Murder of Bani Mazar” in Minya Governorate (southern Egypt), where 10 people were killed in 2006. , in addition to a person who set fire to his house in Assiut Governorate (southern Egypt) in 2020, which it led to the death of 5 people, including his mother, his wife and three daughters, and it was discovered that he was there. suffering from mental disorders.

On his part, Dr. Muhammad al-Mahdi, a professor of psychiatry at Al-Azhar University, said: “When the defendant’s lawyer receives evidence and a confession incriminating the defendant, he looks for a way out, such as telling that there is a mind. problem for the accused, and he asks to be taken to the medical committee.”

He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat: “What happens in such cases is that the judge has the right to accept or reject the request, and if he accepts the request, the accused is transferred to a committee in the main government hospital , and be referred to a committee in a large government hospital. the extent of the liability for his actions is determined by the During the committee.

Al-Mahdi pointed out that “the presence of mental illness does not completely absolve us of responsibility sometimes it is not related to or caused by mental illness, which sometimes comes in the form of of falling.

Al-Mahdi said that “those with mental problems, those with interpersonal problems, or those with borderline personality problems are not exempt from the responsibility of crimes,” explaining that ” responsibility is measured based on 3 pillars; It is his opinion, prejudice, and will. Does he realize what he is doing, whether it is murder or sexual assault? And distinguishing whether what he does is wrong or not wrong, while the will has to know the ability of the doer to prevent doing it or whether he was forced to do it by force or by a certain belief .