Egypt hands death penalty to two brothers who killed father for 'raping sister'

An Egyptian court has handed death sentences to two brothers for taking their father's life, Gulf News reported on Saturday, citing local news.

The Zagazig Criminal Court in Sharqia Governorate also sentenced the man's three daughters and wife to two years in prison for assisting in the crime.

The brothers, who admitted to the offence, acted because their father allegedly raped their sister, according to the Emirati outlet.

It was claimed that the daughters drugged him, sending him unconscious. The sons subsequently hit and strangled their father, killing him, the news report said.

The Director of Sharkqa Security received a report last year from the Director of Criminal Investigation, saying that police had found a body and they believed there had been foul play.

An Egyptian police probe found the dead man's wife and sons had "premeditatedly" ended his life, local reports said.

It was not clear whether the brothers' allegations against their father over the rape of their sister was investigated by authorities.

Sexual violence against women is rife in Egypt. In a 2010 survey of 1,010 women by the Egyptian Center for Women's rights, 98% of foreign women and 83% of native women said they had been sexually harassed in Egypt and two-thirds of men said that they had harassed women.