The Cairo Criminal Court has sentenced 11 persons to between two and five years in prison each for child-trafficking activities. Guilty parties were also slapped with financial penalties of LE 100,000 each.
Three of the culprits were sentenced to five years in prison each for selling two children to adoptive parents, a practice that is strictly prohibited by Egyptian law. Another two culprits, both U.S. nationals, were each sentenced to two years in prison.
The defendants expressed outrage when the verdicts were read following a ten-minute court session.
"This is religious discrimination," said U.S. citizen and Christian Iris Nabil, who faces a two-year jail term for her role in the affair. "I just wanted to provide these children with a good life," she added, denying claims that she had paid money in exchange for the child.
Security officers prevented reporters from interviewing the defendants. Representatives of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, meanwhile, who attended the court session, declined to comment on the case.
Lawyers for the defense hope to appeal the verdict at Egypt's authoritative Court of Cassation.
