Egyptian woman killed in German court drama

Cairo — A woman stabbed to death in a German court was an Egyptian who had sued her attacker after he insulted her for wearing the Islamic headscarf, Egyptian newspapers reported on Friday.

Marwa al-Sherbini, 32, who was killed in a court in Dresden on Wednesday, was the wife of Egyptian academic Elwi Ali Okaz who was also hurt in the incident and is now in critical condition in hospital, the state-owned Al-Akhbar reported.

The attacker stabbed Sherbini "shortly before she was to give evidence in an appeal lodged by the man against a conviction for insulting her over wearing the hijab," said the state-owned Egyptian Gazette.

The 28-year-old man, identified only as Axel W., was overpowered and was being investigated for manslaughter over the killing of the woman, a spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor’s office said.

Magdi al-Sayed, press officer at the German embassy in Cairo, said the case was isolated and did not reflect German attitude towards Muslims.

"It is a criminal act — it has nothing to do with persecution against Muslims," Sayed told the Gazette.

AFP/Expatica