Overview
In a ruling today, the Giza Court of Appeals' criminal division accepted Ramadan Sobhi's appeal against the one-year prison sentence for forging official documents.
Sobhi faced the punishment after authorities arrested a man who allegedly impersonated him to take exams at an institute in Abu al-Nimr, in Giza Governorate.
Prosecutors launched extensive investigations and Sobhi was found guilty of forging official documents and encouraging someone to sit the exams on his behalf.
Verdict and Defense
The court suspended the sentence for three years and ordered a re-examination of all papers related to the case.
The trial today saw the club's legal team of Al Ahly, led by Mohab Osman, defend Sobhi after coordinating with his private lawyer Ashraf Abdel Aziz.
During the session Sobhi answered the judge's question about military service exemption.
He said he obtained the exemption because he was living in the United Arab Emirates at the time, and that the exemption could be obtained by paying a fee in US dollars.
He added that he wished to stay enrolled at the institute until he could continue his studies, and that he did not commit forgery nor know the person who sat the exams.
And to end on a lighter note, Sobhi's legal saga leaves us with this: if life gives you a loophole, make it a well-checked footnote in your career.
Note to readers: there’s no substitute for doing your own exams—except perhaps a very convincing impersonator who learns the art of paperwork.
Punchlines aside, the case remains a reminder that the line between study aid and mischief can blur faster than a referee’s whistle.
