'Hijab martyr' rally due in Cairo

Further protests are expected in Cairo over of the case of an Egyptian woman dubbed the "headscarf martyr" who was killed in a German courtroom last week.

Reports say German Chancellor Angela Merkel will offer condolences for Marwa Sheribini's death to Egyptian leaders at the G-8 summit in Italy.

She was stabbed 18 times by a man convicted of hate-crimes.

A BBC correspondent says popular anger is growing and social network sites are being used to organise demonstrations.

Thousands of angry mourners attended Ms Sherbini's funeral in her hometown of Alexandria on Monday.

More protests have been called on Friday after congregational Muslim prayers in the Egyptian capital.

The 32-year-old pregnant mother-of-one was killed in court by a man identified as Alex W, an immigrant from Russia of German heritage.

He had previously been fined for calling her a "terrorist" for wearing the Islamic hijab or headscarf, and was in court to appeal against his conviction.

Ms Sherbini's husband was reportedly shot by police as he was trying to save his wife and is still in critical condition in hospital.

Many protesters see the case as an extreme example of European Islamophobia, especially because of the initially muted reaction to the crime in Germany.

On Tuesday, German government spokesman Thomas Steg defended the reaction, saying Germany had "not been silent", and that early details about the case had not been sufficiently clear for a "spontaneous reaction".

"This is an abhorrent deed, one that has left us all dismayed and shocked," he said.

He added that Chancellor Merkel would discuss the incident with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the G-8 summit in Italy.