In a case of mistaken identity, three-year-old Ahmed Mansour Karni was sentenced to life imprisonment by the highest Egyptian Military court, along with three additional years by a civilian misdemeanour court, for a crime he would have commited when he was just 16 months old.

Karni was accused of allegedly being involved in the murders of three people and the destruction of public and private properties.

In early 2014, police were first sent to arrest Karni. Upon discovering the boy was only a toddler, they instead took his father, Mansour Qorany Shorara, into custody. Shorara was detained for more than four months until released by a judge.

When Karni was arrested by officers later in 2014 after police had tied a name to the crimes, a judge did not release him as they did his father — he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Not long after the guilty verdict, the assistant to the Interior Minister released a statement saying that this was a case of mistaken identity, and Egyptian authorities have continued searching for an older man with the same name.
Karni has since been released from police custody and is back home with his family.

Megan Rosen, Staff Writer

Sophomore Megan Rosen is a staff writer for the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is on the volleyball team.