A man who had stabbed a Coptic woman in Giza has been referred by the prosecution to the mental hospital in Abbassiya to undergo investigation. The referral came upon a request by his lawyer who claimed his client could not be held responsible for his deeds.
On 11 January, a fanatic Muslim attempted to slit the throat of a Coptic woman in the Giza district of al-Warraq. The woman, Catrine Ramzy, in her late forties and a mother of four daughters, was walking on the street to shop for household needs when a man in a white jilbab passed her. The next thing she knew he was holding her from the back, covering her eyes with his hand, and trying to slit her throat with a cutter, saying that she should know better than to leave her hair uncovered [meaning he was killing her because she was not wearing the Islamic headscarf]. It was a very cold evening, and Ms Ramzy was wearing a thick shawl around her neck; it was this that saved her life. Her assailant, Mamdouh Ramadan, 38, apparently sensing he could not get any further with the cutter, pushed her away and started to flee. But Ms Ramzy called on the passers-by to catch him; they saw the blood the had started trickling down her throat and rushed to her help, while others caught Mr Ramadan and handed him to the police.
Ms Ramzy had to have 63 stitches in her throat. She is mending, and have been talking to the media.
Official investigations revealed that Mr Ramadan suffers mental and psychological problems, and has been in and out of mental hospitals since 2006. Two years ago, he attempted to slit the throat of another Coptic woman, and spent 11 months in prison. He did a number of attempts at self- destruction, but survived.
Watani International
12 February 2020