Activist Shaimaa El-Sabagh Died Because She Was "Too Thin"

Usually, when someone shoots another person in the chest, the intention is pretty obvious: a clear shot in the heart region is most likely to cause death. According to a genius spokesperson of the forensic medicine authority, Hisham Abdel-Hamid, this is a myth. According to Abdel-Hamid, it is “an extremely rare case” that someone would die from a birdshot from a distance of eight meters, such as 33-year-old Shaimaa El-Shabagh who died of just that on January 24th this year as she was laying down a wreath in Tahrir Square. The true reason El-Shabagh died was another one: she was just too thin.

Yes, that’s right, forensic scientists explained officially that a lack of fat between the gunshot wound and her heart and lungs was essentially what killed the activist. The question why she was shot in the first place remains unanswered, however. The only explanation offered by the so-called forensics experts is that: "It is impossible that small-particle birdshot from an eight-metre distance kills…But this is her fate/"

Another activist who was shot in the neck survived the same birdshot attack, however, he survived because his “layer of fat” was bigger than El-Shabagh’s, according to Abdel-Hamid. His words also included, that El-Shabagh was never supposed to die, pointing to the fact  that the central police officer just shot her in the chest to, well, let’s say disarm her (despite not having a weapon, of course). National and international outcry complains about the excessive use of force by the Egyptian Police, and this forensic ‘expert’ comment will likely not change minds. 

Photo courtesy of Associated Press