The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in a meeting with a delegation from Amnesty International on Sunday, confirmed that it conducted virginity tests on women detained by the military in March of this year. The women were arrested by the military as it cleared Tahrir Square of protesters staging an ongong sit in.
However, the council explained that the verginity tests were intended to protect the female detainees from rape during their detention.
The human rights delegation also discussed the issue of referring civilians to military courts, military and police abuses, the persistence of torture and abuse, the slow pace of trials, and the existence within the police ranks of officers accused of killings protesters during the uprising.
In response, the council said that the military trials were the result of the chaos and acts of hooliganism that spread after the revolution, and were aimed at restoring stability. The various acts of torture, meanwhile, were individual cases that were immediately investigated, it said.
The delegation also met with the chief of military intelligence and reviewed human rights in Egypt after the 25 January revolution.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
