The trial of an orphanage manager who was caught on tape violently beating children in his care is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at Omraneya misdemeanour court.
A two-minute video was leaked earlier in August of orphanage manager Osama Othman spanking and violently beating a group of children as punishment for apparently disobeying his orders by turning on the TV and opening the refrigerator.
Police arrested Othman shortly after the video was released, and the children were moved to another orphanage.
A forensics report revealed that some of the children – aged between 3 and 11 – showed signs of abuse that could date back a year. Others have signs of beatings that could be from as recently as two weeks ago.
The wife of the accused orphanage manager, Elham Eid Awad, claimed to the media on Sunday that she filmed Othman beating the children and that the video was shot two months ago with the intention of exposing him.
Her statements were contradictory, however, as she claimed in previous media statements that the video was a year old. Awad is also being investigated.
