(RTTNews) - A court in Germany on Wednesday sentenced a German national of Russian origin to life in prison with no chance of early parole after convicting him for brutally murdering a pregnant Egyptian woman in a courtroom during a hearing involving the two.

Alexander Wiens had brutally stabbed Marwa Sherbini to death during a court hearing in July 2009. The brutal murder took place in front of the Egyptian's three-year-old son and her husband, who was also injured while trying to protect his wife. Sherbini was three months pregnant with her second child at the time of her death.

The incident happened during an appeal hearing in connection with a defamation case that began with an argument in a playground in August 2008. Sherbini had taken Wiens to court in October 2008 after the German refused to let her son use the swing at the playground he was sitting on and insulted the Egyptian by calling her an "Islamist" and a "terrorist".
The court ruled in her favor in November 2008, convicting Wiens of defamation and fining him 780 euros. Wiens, however, appealed the ruling and a new hearing was set up for July 1, 2009.

During the July 2009 appeal hearing, Wiens stabbed Sherbini, a pharmacist, eighteen times with a kitchen knife after the Egyptian finished giving her testimony. The German also stabbed her husband Elwy Okaz, a microbiologist, eighteen times when he tried to save his wife. The incident took place in front of the presiding judge and the couple's three-year-old son.

Though the incident did not evoke much attention in Germany, it caused widespread outrage in the Arab world. The Arab media made the case famous in the Muslim world, dubbing Sherbini, who wore a headscarf, as "the martyr of the hijab."

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com