EGYPT: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING HIS WIFE, SIX CHILDREN

An Egyptian criminal court sentenced a man to death on 6 December 2021 for slaying his wife and six children at their home in a village in Fayoum governorate, southwest of Cairo, in May over accumulated debts.
The man, the owner of a bakery shop, killed his family during the holy month of Ramadan while they were eating their Sohour (pre-dawn) meal. 
He then headed to his shop and set it on fire in an attempt to kill himself. He was rescued, however, and he turned himself in. 
The man said he owed EGP 800,000 (nearly $50,000) in debts and that he murdered his family fearing the wrath of debtors.
The court verdict was issued after the grand mufti, the country's top Muslim legal authority, approved the punishment. The mufti's opinion is legally required in death penalty cases but is not binding.
The ruling is not final and the convict has the right to appeal the verdict within 60 days.