Egypt army officer 'runs over entire family' leaving mother dead

An Egyptian army officer allegedly ran over a family of five killing the mother, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported this weekend, in a case that has polarised the country.

Egyptian security forces reported a "traffic accident" after Basma Ali, an Egyptian who worked as a pharmacist for Kuwait's ministry of health, was killed instantly when a car ploughed into her family.

Her husband, Hamdan Zaki, escaped with minor injuries, while all three children hospitalised with one requiring surgery, according to Saheeh Masr.

The family were on holiday visiting Egypt from Kuwait and owned a villa in Madinaty, an exclusive suburb of New Cairo, east of the capital.

The father had alleged to Saheeh Masr that the incident happened after an argument between the driver and the family, after his car was scratched by one of the children.

After the incident, the officer handed himself into a nearby police station where he was charged with driving too fast.

Zaki said he filed a police report contradicting this and claiming the incident was deliberate but that the police went with the officer's version of events. 

Egyptians on social media slammed official outlets for not carrying the father's version of the events. 

Activist Ola Osman tweeted that she was no longer surprised by the "ugliness that goes on in my country". 

While there has been no confirmation that the incident was deliberate, it has highlighted a culture of impunity the Egyptian Armed Forces military class enjoy in the country.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi reportedly signed an edict in 2021 granting military officers effective immunity from prosecution by the public, and can only be charged in private military courts.

Anyone who questions this immunity can face prosecution for sedition and face jail in a military prison.