Germany abandons inquiry into judge present at Shirbini murder

Dresden - German prosecutors abandoned the inquiry on Wednesday into the judge presiding over the trial in which Egyptian mother Marwa el-Shirbini was stabbed to death this year (2009). Both the judge and the president of the court were deemed to have acted correctly during an appeal hearing, in which accused Alex Wiens, 29, pulled out a knife and killed the pregnant 31-year-old.

At the time, Wiens was appealing a fine for racially insulting el-Shirbini. Her husband, who was also attacked at the time, accused the court of insufficient security measures, enabling Wiens to smuggle a knife into the courtroom.

The Dresden authorities disagreed, and said no mistakes had been made during the trial in which the attack took place.

The July 1 killing caused outrage in Egypt. El-Shirbini, a pharmacist who already had a young son, was described a "scarf martyr" since she wore a headscarf.

Egyptians also criticized the German government for taking a week before issuing an official statement condemning the murder.

Russian-born Wiens, who admitted he hated Muslims and other non- Germans, was convicted on November 11 and jailed for life.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301516,germany-abandons-inquiry-into-judge-present-at-shirbini-murder.html.

2nd Iranian Univ offers Sherbini scholarship

Another Iranian university has announced the decision to offer a scholarship to women who have been denied the right to education for observing the Islamic dress code.

The scholarship named after Marwa el-Sherbini, the three-month pregnant Egyptian woman, who was stabbed 18 times to death in a German court in July.

Shiraz University is the second Iranian academic institution that plans to offer the scholarship, after Kashan University, which first introduced the idea earlier this month.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has welcomed the decision and said that the scholarship can provide an opportunity for Muslim women who are not allowed to study in Europe, because they wear Hijab, to continue their studies.

"The Sherbini scholarship is a valuable reaction to the West's destructive cultural attack," Ahmadinejad said during a Tuesday night speech in the city of Shiraz in Fars Province.

El-Sherbini was killed while testifying against Axel W. in an appeal court. The defendant approached the witness stand during the hearing, stabbed Marwa 18 times in front of her three-year-old son, the jury and other court officials.