Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour
Encyclopedia
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour ' onMouseout='HidePop("39404")' href="/topics/Tanta">Tanta
, Gharbia, Egypt
), also known as "al-Tourbini" (), is a street gang leader and serial killer
who raped and murdered at least 30 children in the course of seven years, throughout several locations in Egypt including Cairo
, Alexandria
, Qalyoubeya and Beni Sueif. All of his victims were 10 to 14 years old, most of them boys. Mansour was arrested in 2006 along with his six accomplices, and subsequently sentenced to death.
Mansour frequently traveled between Cairo and Alexandria
by train because he felt safer in the latter than Cairo because it had fewer police officers. The Vice Department of Borg El-Arab police station in Alexandria started keeping a profile on him during this time. Mansour and his gang members lured street children onto the carriage roof of the trains, where they then raped and tortured the children, and tossed them onto the trackside, dead or barely alive. Some of the children were dumped into the Nile
, or buried alive. Mansour and his gang's crimes came to light in 2006 when two of his gang members were arrested, and Mansour acquired the nickname "al-Tourbini" meaning "Express Train", from his favorite location for the sadistic crimes. After the arrest, Mansour reportedly told prosecutors that he was possessed by a female jinn
who commanded him to commit the crimes. Mansour, along with his accomplice Farag Samir Mahmoud, also known as "Hanata", were convicted and sentenced to death by the criminal court in Tanta in 2007.
, a widely-circulated Egyptian newspaper, reported that some products in Egypt were being named after Mansour's nickname, "al-Tourbini". Several restaurants in Mansour's hometown, Tanta
, started selling so-called "al-Tourbini sandwich", allegedly in demand by young locals. Sheep merchants gave the name "al-Tourbini" to the big-size lamb priced at more than 2,000 Egyptian pound
. Some tuk-tuk drivers named their vehicles "al-Tourbini" to attract customers. According to al-Ahram, the "strangest such marketing ploy" was that of owners of supermarkets and communications centers in Tanta were renaming their businesses "al-Tourbini: The Butcher of Gharbia". Author and journalist John R. Bradley commented in his book Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution that "this reaction borders on the incomprehensible, but what it clearly indicates is that something has gone terribly wrong with contemporary Egyptian society."
Tanta
Tanta is a city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with an estimated 429,000 inhabitants . Tanta is located north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria...
, Gharbia, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
), also known as "al-Tourbini" (), is a street gang leader and serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who raped and murdered at least 30 children in the course of seven years, throughout several locations in Egypt including Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Qalyoubeya and Beni Sueif. All of his victims were 10 to 14 years old, most of them boys. Mansour was arrested in 2006 along with his six accomplices, and subsequently sentenced to death.
Crimes
Mansour left his home in Tanta, a town north of Cairo, and joined a street gang at an early age. Gang leaders taught him skills of survival, allegedly cutting him with razors when he made any mistakes. According to his confession, Mansour soon learned the method of getting back at those who crossed him by raping them, and murdered anyone who threatened to go to the police afterwards. One of the victims, 12-year-old boy Ahmed Nagui, had been a member of Mansour's gang. When Mansour tried to sexually assault him, Nagui reported to the police, and Mansour was arrested but was released for lack of evidence. Soon after Mansour raped and murdered Nagui in retaliation, according to the prosecutors.Mansour frequently traveled between Cairo and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
by train because he felt safer in the latter than Cairo because it had fewer police officers. The Vice Department of Borg El-Arab police station in Alexandria started keeping a profile on him during this time. Mansour and his gang members lured street children onto the carriage roof of the trains, where they then raped and tortured the children, and tossed them onto the trackside, dead or barely alive. Some of the children were dumped into the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, or buried alive. Mansour and his gang's crimes came to light in 2006 when two of his gang members were arrested, and Mansour acquired the nickname "al-Tourbini" meaning "Express Train", from his favorite location for the sadistic crimes. After the arrest, Mansour reportedly told prosecutors that he was possessed by a female jinn
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
who commanded him to commit the crimes. Mansour, along with his accomplice Farag Samir Mahmoud, also known as "Hanata", were convicted and sentenced to death by the criminal court in Tanta in 2007.
Commercialization of the name
Soon after the arrest, al-AhramAl-Ahram
Al-Ahram , founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya . It is majority owned by the Egyptian government....
, a widely-circulated Egyptian newspaper, reported that some products in Egypt were being named after Mansour's nickname, "al-Tourbini". Several restaurants in Mansour's hometown, Tanta
Tanta
Tanta is a city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with an estimated 429,000 inhabitants . Tanta is located north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria...
, started selling so-called "al-Tourbini sandwich", allegedly in demand by young locals. Sheep merchants gave the name "al-Tourbini" to the big-size lamb priced at more than 2,000 Egyptian pound
Egyptian pound
The Egyptian Pound is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 Qirsh , or 1,000 Milliemes ....
. Some tuk-tuk drivers named their vehicles "al-Tourbini" to attract customers. According to al-Ahram, the "strangest such marketing ploy" was that of owners of supermarkets and communications centers in Tanta were renaming their businesses "al-Tourbini: The Butcher of Gharbia". Author and journalist John R. Bradley commented in his book Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution that "this reaction borders on the incomprehensible, but what it clearly indicates is that something has gone terribly wrong with contemporary Egyptian society."