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10.09.2014 Egypt

Egypt jails orphanage head 3 years for beating children

By AFP
A general view of Cairo's skyline, seen at sunset on July 13, 2013.  By Gianluigi Guercia AFPFileA general view of Cairo's skyline, seen at sunset on July 13, 2013. By Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File)
10.09.2014 LISTEN

Cairo (AFP) - A court jailed the head of a Cairo orphanage for three years after a video emerged on the Internet showing him beating children.

Ossama Mohamed Othman was arrested in August after the video allegedly showed him hitting children with a stick and kicking them as they ran away.

The court convicted Othman of assaulting seven children with a stick and endangering their lives.

The third year of his sentence will be suspended if he pays bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds (110 euros, $140).

Othman's estranged wife had told state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that she filmed the video.

The prosecution said some children had accused Othman of beating them for failing to seek his permission to watch television.

Mohamed Faruk, a senior Cairo security official, had said on television that during questioning Othman justified his actions by saying he had been trying to teach the children "a lesson" as they were playing with electrical devices and he feared for their lives.

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