Crime in Egypt

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2013)

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Egyptian Police vehicle in Aswan.

Crime in Egypt refers to criminal acts taking place in the territory of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Crime in Egypt is moderate, and occurs in various forms.[1] A majority of crimes in Egypt are committed and reported in major population centers like Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, and Faiyum.[2] The Global Organized Crime Index has cited human, arms, and drug trafficking as significant issues that Egypt is facing.[3]

## History

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Legal systems in Egypt have changed with the rise and fall of regimes, and the gradual replacement of sharia law with European legal ideas.[4] As a result criminal law and activities defined as crime have changed often over the last several hundred years, with the mixed courts instituted by colonial powers in Ottoman Egypt being regarded as a critical moment in Egypt's legal history.[5]

### Islamic law

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Sharia law has had a massive influence in criminal law and crime in Egypt, by virtue of its influence on former regimes in Egypt. These regimes include those of the Ottoman Empire and Muhammad Ali Pasha. Under the Ottoman Empire citizens lived under the Hanafite school of jurisprudence, which follows sharia and proscribes the teachings of various scholarly figures to provide legal guidance in cases of wrongdoing. This school had several tiers of teachers, each having more authority than the teacher below him, so as to provide direction when the teachings of one scholar didn't apply to a case. In this system the word of the sultan had absolute veto power if it was for the good of the state that a case conclude a certain way. In this way, sharia law was combined with qanun law to decide court cases. Until the later periods, crimes in the Ottoman Empire were enforced by a Qadi.[6] This was at times a liability, as Ottoman law relied not just on the crimes set forth in sharia and qanun, but also it left room for the qadi to enact punishment for perceived offenses that didn't fit into specifically codified definitions of crime. This power was eventually limited under the legal reforms set forth by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.[6] Punishment of crimes under this system could range from simply being verbally reprimanded or fined, to beatings, amputations, and death. During this time period religious officials had special protections from punishment under the law, where they might suffer a verbal warning rather than physical harm. [6]

### Recent History

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Crime in Egypt since the country's transition to a republic in 1953 has lacked much recording, however the 1980's are denoted as having had a great increase in criminal activity. This included numerous kinds of nonviolent petty theft being extremely common in the larger cities, such as Cairo. In addition to this, crime in the Egyptian countryside during this time period was characterized by victims working around established legal systems, to kill perpetrator for the sake of honor or revenge. Egypt is also denoted as having a serious problem with white-collar crime (such as embezzlement, tax evasion, kickbacks, black marketeering, and bribery), especially under the regimes of Anwar El Sadat and Hosni Mubarak.[7] Terrorism has also been a concern, with Egypt experiencing a spike in terrorist attacks from 2012-2018.[8]

## Crime by type

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### Honor killing

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An honor killing is the killing of an individual (often one's own family member) to protect a family's honor, and as such is often a form of domestic violence. A 2005 report states that between 1998 and 2001, 79% of honor killings in Egypt were done as a result of suspected adultery on behalf of the woman, and 41% of the killings being done by husbands, to their wives. The same report references an estimated 52 out of 819 murders reported in Egypt in 1995 being honor killings.[9] Honor killings have historically not faced much legal punishment in Egypt, with certain penal codes in Egyptian law allowing for reduced penalties for those committing honor killings, depending on the judge's discretion.[10]

### Petty crime

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During the 1980s, petty crime was a significant problem in Egypt, but has been declining since then.[11] Motor vehicle theft, crime by women and juveniles, and incidents of kidnappings increased in Cairo in 1988.[11] In an interview in 1989, the director of security for Cairo blamed poor economic conditions, high unemployment, population growth, and changes in social norms as the reasons behind these higher crime rates.[11]

### Corruption

[edit]

Main article: Corruption in Egypt

Corruption represents a massive problem for the Egyptian government, with many anti-corruption measures lacking adequate strength. [3] To fight corruption, Anwar El Sadat established commissions in the 1970's for the investigation of corruption among government officials.[11] Hosni Mubarak, who made it a priority to target corruption, later continued anti-corruption efforts by replacing many cabinet members who failed to detect corruption.[11] Another measure Mubarak took was by replacing the Minister of Interior at the time with Major General Hasan Sulayman Abu Basha, who was expected to take a hardline approach on corruption.[7] Anti-corruption sentiments came to a head among the Egyptian public in 2011, when Egyptians started mass anti-government protests amidst the Arab Spring. A 2017 report discusses corruption levels in Egypt in relation to several other countries, including both immediate neighbors and more distant European ones. In this report Egypt rates as less corrupt than Angola, but more corrupt than Tunisia or the United Arab Emirates, who also underwent the Arab Spring. The same report also draws the conclusion that part of the reason why anti-corruption efforts haven't born fruit in Egypt, is because anti-corruption forces focus too much on large news-worth instances of corruption, and less on more local, petty ones. [12]

Law enforcement has also been reported to be dangerously corrupt, making affiliations with tuktuk and taxi drivers break traffic laws for a charge. Also, making false warrants and unlawful arrests on suspects who are filed with cases made by paying rivals.

### Sexual violence

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Further information: Rape in Egypt and Mass sexual assault in Egypt

Sexual violence has been a recurrent problem in Egypt, with rape being one of the most common crimes in Egypt.[13] The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR) has called the problem "social cancer" and suggested that dress code is no deterrent at all. A 2013 United Nations report on Egypt states that 99.3% of women who responded reported sexual harassment, with incidents of female genital mutilation also being very high. Despite these high rates, incidences of sexual crimes in the nation lack usually go unreported due to shame on the victim's part.[14] Sexual violence against women in Egypt has led to numerous forms of protest, and efforts to protect women from sexual violence include protections set aside in Egypt's 2014 constitution, as well as harsher penalties for breaking laws regarding sexual violence.[14]

Mass rapes have also been known to occur in Egypt, and take the form of the public rapes of women. Two notable instances of this are the sexual assaults of female journalists Lara Logan and Caroline Sinz.[15][14]

### Drug trafficking

[edit]

Egypt is a party to the 1961, 1971, and 1988 international drug control conventions. The use of narcotics such as opium and hashish has been present in Egypt for hundreds of years. However as of the 1980's, drug use in Egypt has been a massive problem, with a 2003 report stating that combatting narcotics was costing Egypt roughly $800 million a year, and an older 1989 report stating that up to 2 million Egyptians were users of illegal drugs.[7][16][17] Some drugs commonly trafficked in Egypt are cannabis, heroin, and opium, with the final destination of many of these drugs being Israel, Europe, and other countries in North Africa.[18] The production of drugs is also a problem in Egypt, with the northern region of the Sinai peninsula being home to opium poppy and cannabis farms.[3]

### Human trafficking

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Main article: Human trafficking in Egypt

Egypt serves as a transit country for women trafficked from Eastern Europe to Israel for commercial sexual exploitation.[18] Men and women from countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are believed to be trafficked through the Sinai Desert to Israel and Europe for labor.[18] In addition to this, victims of human trafficking in Egypt are likely to be Egyptian children trafficked to other areas in Egypt to be put into forced labor such as cleaning, farming, or performing delivery services.[18] Children specifically are targeted for these purposes, especially children living on the street, of which there are an estimated 2 million living in Egypt. In addition to the above types of labor victims of human trafficking have been subjected to, children are especially likely to engage in begging as a form of forced labor. An example of this would be a child being exploited by a criminal organization begging for the duration of the day, giving any money they received to those they are being trafficked by.[19] Another one of the purposes of human trafficking in Egypt is for organ trafficking and harvesting, with Egypt being a major exporter in the human organ trade.[19] With the spread of COVID-19, human trafficking rates temporarily lessened in Egypt with the Egyptian government implementing increased border controls and restricting travel.[3]

### Terrorism and Religious Violence

[edit]

Main article: Terrorism in Egypt

Egypt suffers from religious violence and terrorism, infrequent attacks both on tourists and religious minorities. Notable examples include the Luxor massacre (1997), the 2004 Sinai bombings, 2005 attacks in Cairo and in Sharm el-Sheikh, the 2006 Dahab bombings and the 2011 Alexandria bombing. Roughly 100,000 terroristic attacks have been reported in the middle east since the year 2000, claiming about 240,000 victims. Egypt suffered about 2,100 of those, with 4,200 deaths. Cairo and other areas of the Nile Delta are common targets for terrorist activity in Egypt, with tourists, government personnel, and Coptic Christians being common targets of attacks.[20]

## Crime in Egyptian popular culture

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Crime is a major theme in Egyptian popular culture, with foundations lying in sensationalized cases such as that of Raya and Sakina, a pair of sisters whose crimes were sensationalized by the newspaper Al-Ahrām.[21] A popular theme in crime novels in Egyptian culture is a lack of faith in the due process of law, and a weariness of the legal system and the bureaucracy, as seen in The Thief and the Dogs or Diary of a Country Prosecutor.[22][23]

## References

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1. ^ "Consular Information Sheet: Egypt". Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2017-06-24. Bureau of Consular Affairs
2. ^ Ibrahim, Abbas Adel. “Investigating Crime Patterns in Egypt Using Crowdsourced Data Between 2011-2013.” ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2016.
3. ^ a b c d "Criminality in Egypt - The Organized Crime Index". ocindex.net. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
4. ^ Fahmy, Khaled. “The Anatomy of Justice: Forensic Medicine and Criminal Law In Nineteenth-Century Egypt.” Islamic Law and Society 6, no. 2 (1999): 224–71. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568519991208682.
5. ^ Petricca, Francesca. “Filling the Void: Sharīʿa in Mixed Courts in Egypt: Jurisprudence (1876-1949).” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 55, no. 4–5 (2012): 718–45. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685209-12341272.
6. ^ a b c Peters, Rudolph. Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law : Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, UK ; Cambridge University Press, 2005.
7. ^ a b c Metz, Helen Chapin, and Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. Egypt : A Country Study. 5th edition. Washington, D.C: Federal Research Division, 1991.
8. ^ Younes, A., Mohamadi, B. & AbuGhazala, M.O. Terrorism in Egypt: a comprehensive spatial, spatio-temporal, and statistical analysis. GeoJournal 88, 6339–6364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10972-w
9. ^ Khafagy, Fatma. "Honour Killing In Egypt" (PDF). UN Division for the Advancement of Women. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
10. ^ Zaid, Mohamed Diaaeldin. The lenient treatment of honor crimes in Egypt. 2015. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/169
11. ^ a b c d e Incidence of Crime Federal Research Division, Library of Congress
12. ^ Fayed, Ahmed Alaa. “The Current Status of Corruption in Egypt.” Contemporary Arab Affairs 10, no. 4 (2017): 510–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550912.2017.1399641.
13. ^ "Egyptian woman goes public about alleged police rape in rare TV interview". Associated Press. 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
14. ^ a b c Sadek, George, and issuing body Law Library of Congress . Global Legal Research Directorate. Egypt : Sexual Violence against Women. Washington, D.C: Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center, 2016.
15. ^ "Dutch female reporter gang-raped by 5 men in violent Egyptian protests". NY Post. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
16. ^ "Egypt" (PDF).
17. ^ Yassa, H. A.; Shehata, M. M.; Abdel-Hady, R. H.; Abdel-Aal, K. M. (2009). "Risk factors for bango abuse in upper Egypt". Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. 28 (3): 397–402\. doi:10.1016/j.etap.2009.07.003. PMID 21784033.397-402&rft.date=2009&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/j.etap.2009.07.003&rft_id=info:pmid/21784033&rft.aulast=Yassa&rft.aufirst=H.+A.&rft.au=Shehata,+M.+M.&rft.au=Abdel-Hady,+R.+H.&rft.au=Abdel-Aal,+K.+M.&rft_id=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21784033/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Crime+in+Egypt" class="Z3988">
18. ^ a b c d "CIA World Factbook - Egypt". CIA World Factbook.
19. ^ a b Rashad, Suzi Mohamed. “Child Trafficking Crime and Means of Fighting It: Egypt as a Case Study.” Review of Economics & Political Science : REPS 8, no. 4 (2023): 290–308. https://doi.org/10.1108/REPS-03-2019-0029.
20. ^ Younes, Ali, Bahaa Mohamadi, and Mohamed O AbuGhazala. “Terrorism in Egypt: A Comprehensive Spatial, Spatio-Temporal, and Statistical Analysis.” GeoJournal 88, no. 6 (2023): 6339–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10972-w.
21. ^ Chiti, Elena. “Building a National Case in Interwar Egypt: Raya and Sakina’s Crimes through the Pages of al‐Ahrām (Fall 1920).” History Compass 18, no. 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1111/hic3.12607.
22. ^ ELIA, NADA. “Naguib Mahfouz’s Egypt: Existential Themes in His Writings.” Modern Fiction Studies. THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1353/mfs.0.0776.
23. ^ Ḥakīm, Tawfīq, and Abba Eban. Diary of a Country Prosecutor. London: Saqi Books, 2023.

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