Demiana’s classmate, Moushira Mohammed, told investigators that Demiana was kidnapped and panicked when a tuk-tuk driver grabbed her and fled. The driver was later revealed to be Mohammed Ali Ahmed, who conspired with the defendant, Suleiman, to kidnap the girl.
The lawyer said the prosecution also ignored the testimony of Nora Mohamed, the defendant’s wife, who confirmed that her husband brought a girl to their home, located in Faqous, Sharqiya, claiming that she was his cousin who came to attend the University of Zagazig. Mohamed said the girl showed signs of fear and confusion, and told her that Suleiman threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone that he kidnapped her or that she was Christian.
Mikhail also denounced the prosecution’s ignorance of these testimonies and its dependence on fake investigations showing that the girl left home willingly, as she was in love with the defendant. The conclusion led investigators to drop the case.
“How can a 14-year-old girl be in love with a 40-year-old man?” Mikhail asked.
He pointed out that the brother of the defendant’s wife confessed during investigations that Suleiman beat the girl in front of him during a visit to his sister, and when he tried to prevent him from beating her, he hit him with a gun in his face, and then hid the girl in an unknown location.
The lawyer demanded the Prosecutor General re-open the investigation into the case and charge Suleiman with abducting a minor, killing her and hiding her body in an unknown place. The General Counsel of Ismailia Prosecution kept the issue three times without conducting investigations, said Mikhail.
Demiana Ayoub Ragaay was kidnapped May 17, 2011 from the Kantara Sharq district, north of Ismailia.
In previous statements to MCN, the girl’s father accused a man named Hussam Suleiman of abducting his daughter and demanding a ransom of 100,000 EGP for her return. He also accused the interior minister, the inspector general of security in Ismailia and the general counsel of complicity in the abduction of his daughter.
Cases of abduction of Coptic girls have dramatically increased in Egypt in recent years, especially after the revolution of January 25, 2011, under great fears of pressure on them to convert to Islam. This is accompanied by the state’s silence on repeated calls by Copts to reinstate advice and guidance sessions, which were held for those who want to change their religion and were canceled in 2006.
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