Egypt police arrest man following 'new femicide killing' of woman student

Egyptian security forces arrested a male Egyptian media student on Tuesday following the killing of a female student studying at the same institution, The New Arab’s Arabic-language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has reported.

Police arrested Islam Muhammad Fathi, 20, over the killing of fellow media student Salma Muhammad Al-Shawadfi, also aged 20, outside the headquarters of a regional news outlet Aion Sharkia in the city of Zagazig.

Both the accused and the victim were students at the Al-Shorouk Private Academy.

Police said Fathi confessed to killing Al-Shawadfi for "revenge" after she allegedly ended a romantic relationship between them, although the suspect has not entered a plea in court.

The incident comes after the murder of Mansoura University student Naira Ashraf, a femicide killing that shocked Egypt and brought the issue of femicide to national attention.

Al-Shawadfi was stabbed 15 times, police said.

The Egyptian public prosecutor revealed it has seized street surveillance footage from the area, alongside the alleged weapons and other items.

The killing is another in a series of femicides across the Middle East – in countries including Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE - which have sparked growing calls for enhanced protection for women.

Last month, an Egyptian court sentenced a man who confessed to the horrific killing of university student Naira Ashraf in the northeastern Egyptian city of Mansoura to death by hanging.