The Public Prosecution in Egypt decided the case of the child, Shenouda, which occupied public opinion recently, by deciding to hand him over temporarily to Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, who had found him and raised him with her husband, on the grounds that he was their son.
In statements to Sky News Arabia, Amal Ibrahim Michael expressed her happiness with the Public Prosecution’s decision, stressing that “her son will return to her arms within hours, after she thought that she would be deprived of him forever.”
For his part, the lawyer for Shenouda’s adopted child’s family, Naguib Gabriel, said in statements to “Sky News Arabia” that the prosecution’s decision “means that the child be handed over temporarily and urgently to them as an alternative family until they fulfill the requirements stipulated in the Child Law.”
He added, “The Child Law stipulates several requirements that must be met by any surrogate family in order for their request to adopt a child to be approved.”
According to the lawyer, the requirements include “that the family’s religion be the same as that of the child, that the family submit the criminal record periodically to the competent authority, that a suitable environment be provided for the care of the child, and many other requirements such as the ability to spend.”
He continued, “The requirements take two months or more to submit papers stating that the family has fulfilled them. Therefore, the Public Prosecution Office decided in an urgent and temporary humanitarian manner to hand over the child to the family that found him until the rest of the requirements are met.”
He concluded, “The decision does not mean that the child has become the son of this family, but rather it has become based on his care under the supervision of the authorities.”
Details of the prosecution’s decision regarding the child, Shenouda
- It was issued by the North Cairo Public Prosecution Office, and included the temporary status of the child “Shenouda” with Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, who found him as a trusted parent after she took a pledge to take good care of him and preserve him and not expose him to danger.
- The decision instructed her to complete the procedures for his sponsorship in accordance with the system of alternative families, after the Public Prosecution sought the opinion of the Grand Mufti of the Republic on the child’s religion in light of the circumstances of the investigation, and who issued a fatwa stating that the child follows the religion of the Christian family that found him according to detailed jurisprudential opinions.
- The Public Prosecution addressed the Ministry of Social Solidarity to consider the request submitted by the family that found the child to receive him in accordance with the provisions of the Child Law and its implementing regulations, in the system of alternative families.
- The Public Prosecution commissioned the Child Helpline of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood to take legal measures towards renaming the child a Christian quaternary name for a legal Christian father and mother in light of the findings of the investigations, which included the fatwa of the Mufti of the Republic declaring the child’s affiliation to the religion of the people who found him.
- The child’s case erupted after a dispute arose over the inheritance between the daughter of the child’s adoptive father, Shenouda, and she informed the authorities that the child was not his son and that he had been found. .
