French police arrest Egypt wrestler suspected of sexual assult

Men's epee individual competition bronze medallist Egypt's Mohamed Elsayed poses at the Champions Park at Trocadero during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 1 (AFP)
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Updated 09 August 2024
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French police arrest Egypt wrestler suspected of sexual assult

  • Wrestlers accused of placing a hand on the buttocks of a woman patron
  • French newspaper Le Parisien said he was “roaring drunk“

PARIS: French police early Friday arrested an Egyptian wrestler taking part in the Olympics over allegedly groping a woman in a bar, prosecutors said.
Authorities detained Mohamed Elsayed, 26, in front of a cafe in the French capital’s 13th district at around 5 am after he was accused of “placing a hand on the buttocks of a woman patron,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
Elsayed, who won bronze at the Tokyo Games, lost to Azerbaijan’s Hasrat Jafarov in the 67 kg Greco-Roman wrestling on Wednesday. His opponent went on to win the bronze medal.
A fellow Egyptian with the same name won a bronze medal in epee fencing at the Paris Olympics.
It was not immediately clear if the wrestler had since been released.
French newspaper Le Parisien said he was “roaring drunk.”


France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister

Updated 9 sec ago
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France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister

  • Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence

ALGIERS: France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nunez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.”
The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Nunez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed at “restoring normal security relations,” including cooperation in judicial matters, policing and intelligence.
He thanked the Algerian president for instructing his services to work with French authorities to “improve cooperation on readmissions.” Algeria has for months refused to take back its nationals living irregularly in France.
The renewed cooperation is expected to take effect “as quickly as possible” and continue “at a very high level,” Nunez confirmed.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security.
Invited by his counterpart Said Sayoud, Nunez’s trip had been planned for months but repeatedly delayed.
Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Before traveling, Nunez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence.
Ahead of the trip, Nunez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
It is unclear whether the matter was discussed with Tebboune, from whom the journalist’s family has requested a pardon.