Egyptian media and real estate tycoon Mohamed el-Amin looks from the defendant's cage during a trial session over charges of "human trafficking" and "sexual assault" in the Egyptian capital's eastern suburb of New Cairo on March 20, 2022. [Picture: AFP.]

Egyptian magnate Mohamed el-Amin dies serving sexual assault sentence

Mohamed el-Amin, an Egyptian businessman, passed away while serving a three-year sentence for trafficking and molesting girls at an orphanage he founded, according to his lawyer and a politician on Sunday.

CAIRO – Mohamed el-Amin, an Egyptian businessman, passed away while serving a three-year sentence for trafficking and molesting girls at an orphanage he founded, according to his lawyer and a politician on Sunday.

The former media and real estate tycoon passed away at Al-Salam International Hospital “due to his illness” after being taken from prison to the hospital “a few months ago,” according to MP Mostafa Bakry.

Amin was found guilty in May of sexually assaulting seven minor girls at an orphanage in Beni Suef, roughly 100 kilometers south of Cairo. Amin previously owned the well-known CBC television network before it was sold in 2018.

According to Egyptian law, sexual assault carries a maximum 15-year sentence, or a longer term if the victim was a juvenile or the offender had authority over her. His sentence is the least severe one allowed under certain conditions.