Egypt bans Iranian "veil martyr" postal stamp

Egypt banned an Iranian postal stamp bearing the picture of Marwa al-Sherbini, the Egyptian woman brutally murdered last July in Germany and later called "veil martyr," Iranian media reported Tuesday.

The Iranian government issued a postal stamp in honor of Sherbini's murder at the hands of a Russian immigrant in a Dresden court. The stamp was announced in the presence of Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Mohammad Soleimani, Minister of Communication and Information Technology.

But Egyptian authorities instructed Egypt Post to ban any letters or packages carrying this stamp from entering the country, Press TV reported.

The channel described the Egyptian reaction as "cold" and "unexpected" despite the fact that the stamp was a gesture meant to honor the martyrdom of Sherbini who was a victim of racism.

Egyptian authorities, however, did not comment on the Iranian reports, neither confirming nor denying them.

Iran takes a stance

After Sherbini was murdered, the German ambassador in Tehran Herbert Honsowitz was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry where strong objection to the murder was voiced.

The ministry also issued a statement condemning Germany's delayed response to the incident and lashed out at its failure to ensure the security of minorities, especially Muslims and blamed Western countries for their double standards.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian opposition newspaper al-Wafd ran a story on July 15 accusing Iran of exploiting Sherbini's murder to emotionally manipulate Muslims and Arabs and pit them against Europe and the U.S.

Ahmadinejad stated that the German government was responsible for the murder of Marwa al-Sherbini and criticized the passive stance of Western societies and the discrepancy between the way they treat their citizens and minorities.

"When a minor incident takes place in countries that are not on good terms with them, they issue a series of condemnations, but they do not respect the rights of their minorities," Ahmadinejad stated.

Ahmadinejad also blamed the judge and the jury at the Dresden court for what happened to Sherbini.


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).

When a minor incident takes place in countries that are not on good terms with them, they issue a series of condemnations, but they do not respect the rights of their minorities

Ahmadinejad