CAIRO: Egypt’s public prosecution on Wednesday said it was seeking to arrest nine suspects accused of gang-raping a woman, including seven who are on the run abroad.
The rape allegedly took place six years ago at a luxury Cairo hotel but the allegations only emerged online in July.
“The public prosecution is taking legal steps to arrest the fugitives who are accused of assaulting a young woman at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel in 2014,” a statement said.
The police informed the prosecution that “seven of the accused who face an arrest warrant have flown out of the country,” the statement said.
The prosecution said it was also trying to track down two other suspects in the case, one of whom had allegedly been “accused in a similar (rape) case.”
It did not identify the suspects.
A statement on Monday had said that the suspects were on an airport watch-list.
According to social media accounts up to six men had drugged and raped the woman.
The reports were widely shared, including by Assault Police, an Instagram account with more than 180,000 followers which is dedicated to pushing for justice for rape and sexual assault survivors.
Names and pictures of the accused, who hail from wealthy families, have circulated online, but AFP has been unable to verify their authenticity.
The prosecution had launched a probe in early August after receiving a letter from a national women’s association, which included a complaint from a young woman who claimed she had been gang-raped at the Fairmont in 2014.
The Fairmont Hotel has said it had conducted an internal investigation but found “that at no time were any reports of the incident filed to the hotel, nor to the hotel’s tourism police.”
Egyptian women often face threats of retaliation for exposing sexual misconduct.
The latest accusations come amid a resurgence in the #Metoo movement which seeks to hold sexual predators in the deeply conservative country accountable for their actions.
A 2013 study by UN Women found that 99 percent of women in Egypt had at some point in their lives been sexually harassed, either verbally or physically.
Egypt seeks arrest of 9 in hotel rape case
https://arab.news/btdnu
Egypt seeks arrest of 9 in hotel rape case
- A UN Women found that 99 percent of women in Egypt had at some point in their lives been sexually harassed
- The rape allegedly took place six years ago at a luxury Cairo hotel but the allegations only emerged online in July
Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
- Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia
A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.
The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.
They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.
The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”
Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.
Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.
