CAIRO: A man claiming to be the Maadi stabber has emailed a television show in response and asked that the contents of his message be broadcast. In the email received by the program Kalam Wel Salam (Just Talk), a man purporting to be the Maadi stabber comments on a previous broadcast and its guest, psychiatrist Dr Khalil Fadel. Fadel had profiled the so-called Maadi stabber and told viewers that the perpetrator had "an issue with women , indicating he may have a hatred brought upon by a traumatic experience with members of the opposite sex. Program host Mohamed Salah said he was surprised to receive an email by someone claiming to be the stabber. The story of the Maadi stabber has fuelled hysteria and conspiracy theories in Cairo. Local newspapers have cited police sources who said they were told by a local hospital that eyewitness descriptions of the Maadi stabber matched those of a man who escaped a mental illness facility last month. There is no indication the escaped man is Internet savvy. The saga of fear began when Azza Hamdy Khalil was stabbed in front of her house in Naguib Mahfuz Street on the second day of Eid Al-Adha in early January 2007. Later, 11-year-old Alya Mohamed Khalil was stabbed on her way to a bakery. No deaths have yet been reported from attacks by the Maadi stabber. Police are canvassing the areas of Maadi and Basateen to find the perpetrator. Kalam Wel Salam airs on the terrestrial Channel One after the nine o'clock newscast. It is produced by Mohamed El Shaba and directed by Ibrahim Abdoun.
