Monday, 25 May 2026
Egypt court jails officials over karate player’s death
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced three sports officials to three years in prison for negligence over the death of a teenage karate player during a competition, judicial sources said.
A misdemeanour court in Alexandria handed the sentences in absentia to the head of the medical committee at the Egyptian Karate Federation, the head of its competitions committee and the head of the federation’s Alexandria branch, the sources said.
The court set bail at 10,000 Egyptian pounds to temporarily suspend the sentences and ordered the officials to pay 100,000 pounds in provisional civil compensation to the victim’s family.
The case dates back to March, when 17‑year‑old Youssef Ahmed died after spending 41 days in a coma. He had collapsed in February after suffering a severe blow below the ribcage, near the heart, during a match at the national karate championship, prosecutors said.
He was taken to a hospital in Alexandria and placed in intensive care but died of his injuries weeks later.
An investigation found that the officials had violated sports ministry rules requiring a qualified medical team to be present at national‑level events. Prosecutors said the defendants allowed unlicensed doctors to provide emergency care, failed to ensure that a defibrillator was available at the venue, and contracted an unlicensed medical services company in breach of federation regulations.