Al-Arish student “Naira”...a horrific story of a victim of photos taken surreptitiously in the “bathroom” (social networking sites)

The case of the murdered Al-Arish University student, who was slaughtered or committed suicide, has occupied the attention of the Egyptian street, and social media pioneers, during the past few days... after it became clear that behind her absence, death, were incidents of influence exploitation, tyranny, electronic blackmail, insult, humiliation, and severe oppression, all of which was practiced. She was attacked by influential colleagues who preyed on her morally and psychologically.

The story of the student, who is in the first year at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Al-Arish, and whose name is Naira Salah Al-Zoghbi (19 years old), goes back to February 24, when she was transferred from the university residence to Al-Arish Hospital in poor condition, where she died.

The hospital medical report said:

Her death resulted from a severe drop in blood circulation, and an allegation that she had ingested an unknown toxic substance.

An insulting apology

Naira, a student at Al-Arish University, was supported by her family in her struggle and effort to obtain a high school diploma from her hometown of Mit Tarif, which is affiliated with the Dikernes Center - Dakahlia Governorate (northeast of Cairo)... to advance her total to the College of Veterinary Medicine in Al-Arish.

Before she completed her first year in college - exactly two weeks ago - her family rushed to Al-Arish, following a call to take their daughter to the hospital. As soon as they arrived, they were shocked by the news of her death.

The family received the body and carried it to their town, to be buried.

The incident would have passed quietly had it not been for the eruption of social networking sites, with thousands of posts revealing that the death was not natural, and demanding that those responsible for her death, whether by murder or suicide, be held accountable.

Pictures were circulated of “posts” containing an apology from the girl to her colleague Shorouk Kamal, the daughter of a police officer (who was suspended from work by the Ministry of Interior), and another colleague who is a friend of Shorouk, called Taha Ibrahim.

The apology is humiliating and painful for the soul. It came against the backdrop of threatening posts from Shorouk and Taha, in which they claimed that they had scandalous pictures that they would publish if Naira did not comply with the apology.

Poison pills

The “Public Prosecution” began the investigation and ordered the exhumation of the body of the “student Nayra” for an autopsy, conducted by forensic medicine.

To definitively determine the cause of death...whether it was suicide or murder.

It decided to imprison Shorouk and Taha, pending investigation, on two charges: the felony of disclosing matters related to private life, in writing, accompanied by a request for an apology, and the misdemeanor of assaulting the sanctity of Naira’s private life.

The “Public Prosecution’s statement” showed that the student at Al-Arish University suffered severe psychological pressure resulting from the first accused (Shorouk) threatening her to publish conversations that she had embezzled from Naira’s phone, and sent them to her colleague, the second accused (Taha), who wrote on the “WhatsApp” group. , that he had private correspondence and pictures of “one of the students,” threatening to publish them at the time of the students’ choosing on the “group” if she did not apologize for the offense she had done to Shorouk.

“Al-Bayan” reported - according to witnesses - that the student (Naira) had bought three pills of the poisonous pill, but it did not say that she had taken these pills, nor did it suggest the hypothesis of murder... noting that it was awaiting the report of the forensic doctor responsible for determining the causes of death. .

The “grain pill” is: a small tablet of phosphine gas, compressed and concentrated, and very toxic. The “grain pill” is circulated without restrictions in Egypt, and farmers use it to protect crops from decay and insects.

The pill has been widely used in recent years for suicide due to its ease of obtaining, cheap price, and quick effect.

The crime of "electronic blackmail"

“Electronic blackmail” is a new, recurring crime in recent years. It consists of the perpetrator intimating the targeted victim (man or woman) by publishing correspondence or video clips of her that he has embezzled or stolen from a phone or social media application, if she does not submit. For what he asks for.

Egyptian law does not explicitly mention the crime of “electronic blackmail.” Instead, it deals with the crime of violating the sanctity of private life, and threatening the victim with a threat coupled with a demand from him: (a) sex, indecent assault, a sum of money, etc.).

The penalties for this crime begin with six months imprisonment and a fine or one of them, and up to seven years in prison, if blackmail is accompanied by a request, a crime against oneself, or an offer.

Internet Investigations lines are available to report these crimes. However, many Egyptians do not tend to report incidents of blackmail or sexual harassment.

To avoid scandal.

Western girl committed suicide

The month of December, 2021, witnessed the suicide of a girl from Gharbia Governorate (Basant Khaled - 17 years old), by taking a “gross pill”... against the backdrop of five young men from her town pressuring her and blackmailing her with obscene pictures attributed to her. To have forced sex with her.

The last message of the suicidal girl, which she left to her family, was that she was wronged and that the pictures were fake.

The perpetrators were punished with imprisonment (from 5 to 15 years) on charges of human trafficking and exploiting the victim’s weakness, in light of their threats against her, with the intention of exploiting her sexually, and their attacks on the sanctity of her private life, and family principles and values, using the Internet.

Superiority and arrogance

The murder or suicide of Naira Salah, a student at Al-Arish University, reflects a defect in family education among a sector of our youth, the children of some people with influence, power, or wealth, who are inhabited by a hateful classism and an appearance of empty value.

Fathers, instilled in their children;

Superiority, condescension, arrogance, selfishness, and bullying of “others,” the weak and poor of the country, who do not match their influence and distinction.

Some of these children became, as a result of bad upbringing, predatory wolves, as they did with the “killed woman.”

From another angle, the case reflects the division and distance in our universities between students and professors. The crime was born, and news of it spread on the WhatsApp group for first-year students at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Al-Arish, to which the perpetrators and the victim belong.

The university administration and college professors did nothing to stop these human wolves at the sanctity of university morals and values, and to educate students about the limits of disagreement, respect the privacy of others, and raise them morally.

Compensation for what they did not learn at home.

We ask God to protect Egypt from this devastating moral deterioration.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.