Update: Prosecutor general deepens review of Tahrir Square rape case

Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat has ordered investigations into the mob sexual assaults and rape perpetrated in Tahrir Square on Sunday night during celebrations for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s inauguration, reported the privately owned ONA news agency.

The investigating team will look into a video that portrays a brutal sexual assault, which went viral shortly after the incident, and question members of the police task force that was securing the square, according to ONA.

Seven people were arrested earlier on Monday for their alleged involvement in the violent acts, said an Interior Ministry statement posted on its official Facebook page. The state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the detainees were being interrogated by the Qasr al-Nil prosecution.

The video in question, which began circulating on social media late Sunday, showed a girl stripped bare of her clothes and being dragged and shoved by a group of men until she was able to reach an ambulance.

The seven detainees are suspected of involvement in four seperate incidents of mob assault and rape that evening, Al-Ahram said. The prosecution is also expected to take statements from the victims and eyewitnesses.

The “I Saw Harassment” group, an online platform that documents and lobbies against sexual harassment, reported five incidents of sexual assault in Tahrir Square that night. Four victims required medical attention in nearby hospitals.

The group criticized security forces for failing to safeguard against such incidents, which have become commonplace in large gatherings for years.  

The Interior Ministry’s statement said one officer was injured as he tried to keep the harassers away from one of the victims. However, “I Saw Harassment” said the officers who intervened did so on account of their “own conscience,” and were not following orders from the ministry itself.

On Thursday, former President Adly Mansour approved a draft law criminalizing sexual harassment. Under the law, violators can face at least six months in jail or a LE3,000-5,000 fine.

The law’s definition of sexual harassment includes gestures or any form of communication that carries sexual connotations.

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