What happened to Mariam Moustafa in Nottingham and why was the Egyptian student attacked?
Mariam Moustafa died after she was viciously attacked by a gang of girls outside a shopping centre in Nottingham
EGYPTIAN student Mariam Moustafa died on March 14 after being attacked by a gang in Nottingham three weeks earlier.
The 18-year-old Nottingham College engineering student was attacked by a gang of girls outside the Victoria Centre in the city centre on February 20 at around 8pm.
What happened to Mariam?
Mariam was set upon by a gang of girls outside a shopping centre in the East Midland city while she waited for a bus.
She had been shopping in Nottingham before being repeatedly assaulted by the women in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.
Mariam’s uncle Amr El Hariry, 46, said he believed a group of about 10 girls had started beating his niece before she ran to get on a bus.
He said the girls kept beating her until she passed out and a man intervened to help.
Her younger sister, Mallak Moustafa, 16, said her sibling told her how the attack unfolded before she went into a coma.
She told the BBC: "My sister couldn't see as she'd been hit in the head but then as soon as she saw our bus coming, she ran to it, trying to get on it.
"She got on to the bus, she didn't think they'd all pay £1 to get on but they went up to her when she'd sat down and said they weren't finished with her.
"Then the girls kept saying punch her more, punch her more. Then she couldn't see what was going on."
Nottinghamshire Police confirmed she had been “punched several times,” adding she then got on a bus but was followed "by the same group of women who were threatening and abusive towards her before they got off".
The engineering student was rushed to Nottingham City Hospital and placed in an induced coma but died on Wednesday.
Her uncle claimed two of the girls responsible had attacked Mariam and her sister Malak four months before the fatal assault.
A 17-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and was subsequently released on conditional bail.
A Home Office post-mortem examination is due to take place.
Why was Mariam attacked?
The reason for the attack is not yet clear and police said they were keeping an “open mind” whether or not it was racially motivated.
Supt Rob Griffin of Nothinghamshire police told a press conference: "All of the evidence indicates that the incident is not in any way hate-related."
He added the police had a "very clear picture" of what happened that night and that they have identified six suspects.
The Egyptian Embassy said it had been "closely following" the circumstances of the "vicious attack" and had "expressed the need for those responsible to be brought to justice swiftly" with UK authorities.
A statement from the embassy said: "The deep concern of the Egyptian public is evident and the embassy remains focused in its efforts to support and assist Mariam's grieving family whose life has been shattered by their traumatic loss.”
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