Egyptian Man Dies After Allegedly Being Forced Off Moving Train

Mohamad Eid was allegedly forced off of a train in Tanta, Egypt. (Pexel)

An Egyptian train conductor was arrested following the death of Mohamad Eid and injury of Ahmad Mohamad. The men were allegedly forced off a moving train in Tanta. The two men reportedly illegally boarded the train to sell hand-made goods to passengers and were unable to pay the fine of 70 Egyptian pounds ($4.35) for boarding without tickets.

Videos, which circulated on social media, showed the conductor supposedly forcing the men to jump off of the moving train due to their inability to pay. However, the conductor denies any wrong-doing. "I did nothing and they are the ones who jumped," the conductor told Egyptian news website Masrawy. "They opened the door of the train because they did not have the money for the ticket."

After Eid’s death, Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir shocked many when he said that the passenger was “not a child” and should have known better than to board a train without a ticket. However, he promised he would visit Eid’s family with his condolences. The Ministry of Transportation will offer 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($6,196) in immediate assistance to Eid’s family and 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,239) to Mohamad’s family.

Recently, Egyptian rail authorities have increased the enforcement of fines for ticketless passengers in an attempt to augment revenues to renovate deteriorated state-run transportation facilities. Just hours after the incident that claimed Eid’s life and injured Mohamad, at least four people were killed in a train accident in Luxor. Egypt has a history of faulty train equipment, bad maintenance, and poor management. 

People on social media have been posting in support of the “ticket martyr,” complaining that “the price of a ticket is worth more than your life,” and that “we’re cheaper than a pack of cigarettes.” Although it remains contested whether Eid voluntarily jumped or was pushed off of the train, his death has sparked outrage and dialogue in Egypt over the supposed criminalization of poverty and the treatment of those who break the rules.