BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces have arrested three Egyptian men wanted in their home country on charges of involvement in an alleged gang rape six years ago.
The arrest, reported late Saturday, followed an Interpol notice for the suspects at the request of Egypt.
A Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Sunday that “legal and administrative procedures” were underway to deport the three men, who are in their early 30s.
The case was uncovered by a social media account following sexual assaults in Egypt. The alleged gang rape took place at a five-star Cairo hotel in 2014 but word of the assault surfaced only in July when an Instagram account, Assault Police, reported the allegations as part of a vigorous #MeToo campaign that swept Egypt this summer.
Last week, Egyptian prosecutors named nine men as suspects — seven had already left the country after allegations of the rape went viral in July.
Five of the suspects arrived in Lebanon, according to a statement from Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces. Acting on a request from Egypt, three were arrested late Friday in the village of Fatqa, north of Beirut, while the other two have apparently left Lebanon.
Another two suspects were arrested in Egypt, including one last week as he attempted to flee the country. The whereabouts of the other suspects remain unknown.
The Egypt #MeToo campaign also led to the arrest of a former student at Egypt’s most elite university, the American University of Cairo, over multiple accusations of rape and sexual assaults.
Police Assault said at least six men hailing from wealthy and powerful families had drugged and raped a woman after a party at Cairo’s five-star Fairmont Nile City Hotel.
Following the Instagram report, Egypt’s chief prosecutor opened an investigation and last week, General Prosecutor Hamada el-Sawy issued the arrest warrants.
Lebanon arrests 3 Egyptian suspects in Cairo gang rape case
https://arab.news/v7baa
Lebanon arrests 3 Egyptian suspects in Cairo gang rape case
- Five of the suspects arrived in Lebanon, according to a statement from Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces
- Three were arrested late Friday in the village of Fatqa, north of Beirut
Hundreds mourn in Syria’s Homs after deadly mosque bombing
- Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect
HOMS: Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday despite rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs where a bombing the day before killed eight people and wounded 18.
The crowd gathered next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the population is predominantly from the Alawite minority, before driving in convoys to bury the victims.
Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (“father of Ahmad“) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a “very very strong explosion.”
He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out of it, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded, amid blood and scattered body parts on the floor.
While the neighborhood is primarily Alawite, he said the mosque had always been open to members of all sects to pray.
“It’s the house of God,” he said. “The mosque’s door is open to everyone. No one ever asked questions. Whoever wants to enter can enter.”
Mourners were unable to enter the mosque to pray Saturday because the crime scene remained cordoned off, so they prayed outside.
Some then marched through the streets chanting “Ya Ali,” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.
