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Four Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Brutal Killing Of Dog In Egypt

March 11, 2015

In a landmark case, an Egyptian court sentenced the four people accused of involvement in the killing of a domesticated dog to three years of prison with labour on Wednesday.

Three of the defendants are in custody, while the dog’s owner, was tried in absentia. They all faced charges of public “use of force and violence… by killing a domesticated animal, a dog, after restricting its movement.”

They were also accused of possessing without legal reason bladed weapons used to assault individuals.

The dog’s killing was caught on a video that went viral on social media last month, sparking uproar and prompting a few dozen to organise a demonstration in Cairo.

The video shows three men beating a dog strapped to a light pole with knives, eventually killing the dog.

Screen Shot 2015-02-25 at 12.49.17 pm

The three defendants in custody admitted to prosecutors that they had killed the dog, accusing the dog’s owner of using it to commit crimes of theft.

They said the dog’s owner attempted to steal a shop belonging to one of them, adding that the dog bit another defendant who attempted to stop the theft.

The dog’s owner and a friend of his, who are at large, were sentenced to 15 years in absentia last week for theft.

The men who were sentenced today had filed a complaint against the dog’s owner accusing him of theft.

They told prosecutors they agreed with the dog’s owner to kill the dog and in turn renounce the complaint.

In a previous trial session, prosecutors demanded that the defendants are handed the maximum penalty.

Egypt’s Penal Code states that the punishment for killing a domesticated animal or “gravely harming it” is imprisonment for up to a year or a fine of no more than 200 Egyptian pounds.

Comments (48)

  1. Karen Jones says:

    You need to educate people, look at all those who stood and watched and did nothing to defend this animal, they should be prosecuted as well for failing to act.

    1. Minymina says:

      People don’t want to get involved. They shouldn’t be prosecuted for it.

    2. Carol Hulbert says:

      They should be prosecuted for not calling the police, for making no effort to stop torture and murder of another living being. Thanks to the Egyptian court for finally getting somewhat close to what a sentence should be in a case like this. In my opinion it should be longer but this is progress at least. That dog suffered in pain and terror JUST THE SAME as any human would had this been done to a human although the sentence would be a lot longer. Their lives matter too and they suffer with pain the exact same as we do. Animal torture and abuse has risen in recent years to truly depraved levels and what people are failing so miserably to realize is that people who could do this are SICK and will graduate to humans if not stopped.

    3. Miriam says:

      Yes, somebody should have ended this before the horrible act of crime took place.

    4. Minymina says:

      They didn’t do shit so why the fuck should they be prosecuted? Use some god damn logic instead of speaking out of your ass.

    5. Carol Hulbert says:

      You know cussing like that shows pure ignorance. I speak from my mouth whereas you speak from a toilet. Nobody has ever told me how to speak on any board and you surely will not be the first. I don’t know what rock you live under but in many places, it’s a crime not to report a crime. Had I been there, I’d have sure stopped it but then I love animals and realize they’re defenseless and voiceless. Obviously you have no heart, nor vocabulary.

    6. Minymina says:

      What’s wrong, can’t you take a little bit of profanity?
      I speak the way I do because your argument is pure BS.

    7. Carol Hulbert says:

      Really? What’s your excuse for the profanity when talking to others? You impress nobody. If I wanted to I could talk just like you but I am a lady and I have far more other words to use that don’t show such ignorance. You’re in Europe, I’d guess the laws there are different and that’s why you’ve climbed on your ridiculous high horse. Here in the US watching a crime be committed and not reporting the crime makes one an accomplice to that crime. If you were in that poor dog’s place would you not want, even expect, someone who saw what was happening to at least call the police, at the most actually help you? Silence most certainly IS tolerance which is inexcusable when a totally innocent animal is being beaten and murdered. There is NO excuse for animal abuse nor is there any excuse for standing back and watching it.

    8. Marty B. says:

      You are absolutely right! The least someone could have done is call the police for help. The most would have been to step in and try to stop this atrocity and save the dog’s life. Instead, the people merely watched this killing unfold and did nothing. When we turn out backs on other beings who need our help, we become complicit and equally responsible for the outcome.

    9. Ted Teodoro says:

      You really got things all twisted around in your coconut, haven’t you? Just read your statement again.

    10. Ted Teodoro says:

      Oh, I see. Those who just watched the killing of a live being, effectively in the front row, are exempted from prosecution by dint of their tolerance of the act. That’s a pretty convenient world you live in.

    11. Minymina says:

      Yes actually, its the law. Bystanders shouldn’t be prosecuted as they didn’t do anything. What kind of moronic logic is that where people are prosecuted for not stopping a crime?

    12. Ted Teodoro says:

      Hello? Am I talking to a real person? Silence is tolerance, and tolerance is complicity. That logical enough for you? You know very well that if you were under attack, you would cry out to me for help if I was standing within sight of you. And do we really need a law to tell us when to help or not? I reckon you are speaking from Egypt. So, you are telling me that if there is a law that stipulates that you won’t be charged with complicity in a crime if you don’t stop the crime then you’ll take the exemption? Talk about moronic.

    13. Minymina says:

      Actually I’m speaking from Europe.

      People shouldn’t get prosecuted for simply being bystanders. If they were not involved, then why should they be punished? Should people who witness a bank rubbery be arrested for not stopping it? Use your fucking head.

      If you actually watch the video you’ll notice that the bystanders were made up of old men and women (not to mention children). What exactly do you expect them to do? You are a fucking imbecile.

    14. Ted Teodoro says:

      Well, if I am an imbecile, guess who’s arguing with one?

    15. Veronica Finnecy says:

      All it takes for EVIL to flourish in this world is for goog men to stand back and do nothing.

    16. Carol Hulbert says:

      I doubt it, she lives under a slimy rock.

    17. Ted Teodoro says:

      Obviously a product of some kind of aquaculture!

    18. Carol Hulbert says:

      I’ll never understand some people’s attitude when an innocent animal is being beaten and murdered. Their lives count too, not enough people seem to care, they’re not “just dogs” they are living beings who have as much right to live free from harm as we do. Weird aquaculture now, I don’t know about that 🙂

    19. Ted Teodoro says:

      Compassion is a virtue and unattainable for some. We’re dealing with depraved individuals who murdered a dog and a crowd of people who just watched and didn’t life a finger to reject the cruelty before them. And here on this forum, we have an equally depraved individual who would rather defend the onlookers than express sympathy or sorrow for the animal. Neanderthals still walk this Earth, you know. These are the people who act like an anchor we drag around, slowing our progress to a higher level of existence.

    20. Carol Hulbert says:

      I have to say, that was very well put and so true. My life is animal rescue, mainly dogs and I will never understand the horrific cruelty I see and not just with dogs but too many species to name them all here. So much evil in this world, Neanderthals as you say but I don’t even know if they’d be as cruel as the things I’ve seen and see every single day. I guess I should pity that potty mouth girl, I’d hate to be a person with no compassion or empathy for other life. My heart is broken daily but I thank God I love animals so much and my life is to save them from harm any time I can. Had I been in that crowd of onlookers, I can promise you, the dog wouldn’t be dead and I’d be the one in jail because I’d have certainly defended the dear helpless animal with whatever I could get my hands on. Thank you for that comment, very wise and profound!

    21. Ted Teodoro says:

      More than ten years of animal shelter volunteering here…active in animal rights…

    22. Ed_Stark says:

      You live in Egypt?