A Cairo criminal court ruled today, Monday, to imprison an Uber driver for 15 years and impose a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds for attempting to kidnap a girl named Habiba El-Shama. The public prosecutor's statement revealed that "the accused terrified an entire family, and he exploited his car to commit his crime. As soon as the victim got into his car, he began his heinous acts, pushing her towards death."
The prosecution added that "the defendant attempted to abduct the victim inside his vehicle, and when she jumped out of his car, he fled the scene and consumed drugs without realizing that this innocent soul had paid the price of his wrongdoing." Habiba El-Shama died on March 14 of this year from injuries sustained after jumping from the Uber driver's car.
The prosecution's statement noted: "The public prosecutor ordered the referral of the defendant for attempting to kidnap the victim, Habiba El-Shama, to the competent criminal court, to punish him for attempted kidnapping by coercion, possession of narcotic substances in contravention of legal regulations, and operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs."
It was further stated: "Investigations by the public prosecutor confirmed that upon questioning the first person who saw the victim—attempting to assist her—after she jumped from the defendant's car, she told him that the defendant wanted to kidnap her." She specifically stated, "Uber wanted to kidnap me."
The legal representative of Uber testified that the defendant's account had previously been closed due to numerous complaints from users against him, but he created another account using a different national ID number, allowing him to continue using the app. The public prosecutor obtained a copy of documents related to this forgery incident.
Additionally, the complaints made against the defendant by others in the company where he worked were reviewed, revealing one from a woman who reported that he had sexually harassed her. Investigations also revealed that the defendant had used narcotic substances, as confirmed by blood and urine tests conducted on him, as indicated in the forensic report.
