CAIRO (AFP) — Fourteen Egyptians, including officials and parents, were jailed for up to 15 years on Monday for involvement in leaking secondary school exams in a scandal that has rocked the country.
A court in Menya, 150 miles (240 kilometres) south of Cairo, convicted the group for trying in June to cheat the dreaded "thanawiya amma" -- Egypt's equivalent of A-levels or SATs -- that largely determine a child's future.
The court found the accused guilty of "having organised leaks, which damaged the principle of equality of opportunity between pupils," in the English and maths sections of the exams, a judicial source said.
Ringleader Ezzat Khalil Mansour, head of Menya's Examinations Committee, was jailed for 15 years and sacked.
His friend Ayman Rabie was jailed for 10 years for having bought the exam papers for 300 Egyptian pounds (55 dollars) and for subsequently selling them.
Four other accused, including a policeman and a headmaster, were jailed for seven years and fined 5,000 pounds. The other accused, including parents who bought the leaked exam papers, were jailed for between three and five years.
Five suspects were acquitted, including the owner of a bookshop whose photocopier was used to copy the exams.
In a country rife with corruption where some 20 percent live below the poverty line, a university education, especially a degree in medicine or engineering, can help to break down rigid class barriers.
When the scandal broke in June, public prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud said the problem was limited to Menya and did not affect the majority of the 800,000 pupils who took the exam nationwide.
That declaration was greeted with scepticism by many parents.
The case has gripped the nation, bringing together state and opposition media in a rare show of unity to demand answers. Columnists have demanded a re-sit, with teachers and academics supporting them.
Wow 15 and 10 years??? It's not that they killed anyone....
Seti Member # 15641
posted
Yes * it isnt as if they owned a ferry that sank drowning many citizens receiving just punishment.
Tigerlily Member # 3567
posted
Monday, September 08, 2008
15 years prison sentence for ringleader in "thanawiya amma" case, 7 years for torturing a man to death
The verdict in the ¨Thanawyya amma¨ case in Minya vas issued today. The head of Minya's Examinations Committee,Ezzat Khalil Mansour got a 15 year prison sentence and he also loses his work.
I am in no way inclined to think that this is something that authourities should look lightly upon, but bare in mind that a case were a man was tortured to death inside the police precinct, by the very people who is supposed to uphold the law, and defend the public, rendered a seven years prison term for the policemen involved. That the case that all off us are all to familiar with, the Imad al Kabir torture case rendered three years in prison , not to speak about the sentences in al Salam Boccacio 98 case, still fresh on our minds and still staining the reputation of the judicial system.
With this in mind i can´t say that this is a fair sentence. Killing someone gives you seven years, being involved in 1000 people´s death, and you are acquitted, so forgive for thinking that 15 years seems a bit too much....
posted ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
It's not that they killed anyone.... ![[Confused]](confused.gif)