Egypt seeks justice for Sudanese infant raped, murdered in Cairo

A deliveryman suspected of sexually assaulting and killing a Sudanese infant is set to stand an urgent trial before a Cairo criminal court on Tuesday in a horrific case that has sent shockwaves across both Egypt and Sudan for over two weeks.

The 22-year-old man, whose identity has not been disclosed, reportedly confessed that on the evening of April 19, he kidnapped, raped, and killed 10-month-old Janet Gomaa, the daughter of Christian Sudanese refugees residing in Cairo.

After ending her life, he placed her body in a garbage bag and dumped it in a nearby public park.

The suspect reportedly said he had happened to be inside the residential building in the Nasr City neighbourhood where he saw the victim playing with her six-year-old sister.

The victim’s body showed signs of sexual assault and strangulation, local news outlets reported, citing the autopsy report and witnesses who found the victim.

If found guilty, the perpetrator is expected to face the death penalty as per the Egyptian penal code.

"His defence is likely to resort to a known loophole, pleading not guilty by reason of insanity and demand the court to admit him to a mental institution instead," lawyer Mona Radwan told The New Arab.

"But the suspect has already stood trial before the court of public opinion, so I rule out the court could rule in his favour," she added.

In 2017, a 35-year-old man committed a similar crime, raping a 20-month-old infant after taking off her diaper, in a case dubbed by the media as "the diaper girl". He was executed by hanging approximately two years later.

In recent years, women across Egypt have spoken out on social media about the subject as part of the #MeToo movement, as many went public and reported such atrocities. 

Statistically, around 7.8 million Egyptian women undergo a form of gender-based violence every year, according to a UN survey released in 2015.

In 2017, a survey conducted by Reuters ranked Cairo as "the world's most dangerous megacity for women."

Already home to about four million Sudanese citizens, Egypt has long been a favoured destination for refugees fleeing wars and economic hardships, either as a refuge or a transit country en route to Europe.

The rather tragic incident has unfolded amid anti-Sudanese sentiments in Egypt, especially after the country witnessed a significant influx of refugees following the onset of civil war in neighbouring Sudan over a year ago. However, Christian Sudanese refugees sought asylum in Egypt many years before the current civil war.

Online hate speech has skyrocketed in Egypt’s online sphere, with many hashtags demanding the deportation of refugees in Egypt going viral on X.

The lack of safety and high rates of poverty in Egypt have driven some Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers to return to their country, where conflict between warring parties continues to rage on.