Iran hardliners protest German killing of Egyptian

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A group of hardline Iranians gathered in front of the German embassy in Tehran on Saturday to protest against the murder of an Egyptian woman inside a German courtroom, a Reuters witness said.

Marwa El-Sherbiny, 31, mother of a 3-year-old and three months pregnant, was stabbed 18 times by the man she was testifying against during a July 1 appeal hearing in Dresden, German prosecutors said.

Her killer also stabbed her husband, who German police then mistook for the attacker and shot in the leg, prosecutors said.

"There were around 150 students and they threw eggs at the main gate of the German embassy," said the witness. "The students chanted 'Death to Germany' and 'Death to Europe'" the witness added.

German prosecutors said the killer, a German of Russian origin, was appealing against a conviction for insulting Sherbiny by calling her an "Islamist," "terrorist" and "slut" when she asked him to make space for her son to go on the swings at a playground in Dresden.

Sherbiny's murder has incensed public opinion and the media in Iran, where hundreds of worshippers condemned the crime at Friday prayers, and state media called her a "martyr" of Islamic values.

Iran summoned German ambassador to Iran Herbert Honsowitz on Friday to protest against the murder, urging Berlin to do more to protect the rights of religious minorities in Germany.

Sherbiny's body was flown to Cairo and her funeral took place on Monday. Her murder angered public opinion and the media in Egypt too.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi, editing by Tim Pearce)