Egypt’s Public Prosecution has ordered seven suspects to be held in pretrial detention for sexually harassing a woman in the Mit Ghamr village in the country’s Daqahliya Governorate.
The case has received a considerable amount of public attention over the past few days, as the men deny the case and have been accused of threatening the woman.
In a statement on Thursday, the prosecution said that the woman in question filed the claim about the pursuit of a group of men to her on street in Mit Ghamr before sexually harass her.
The prosecution added: “The girl ran to a café to avoid them, and when she came out of it, thinking that they had left, she was surprised that they kept following her and continued to harass her, so she hid in a car showroom, whose owner helped her to go to her home.”
The woman confirmed that she has received threats from a relative of one of the suspects and a lawyer assigned to defend some of the accused.
She added the lawyer defamed her in order to influence the public opinion and force her to drop her complaint.
By investigating and examining surveillance cameras overlooking the site of the incident, the police were able to identify the seven defendants, and match the plate numbers of a car and motorcycle belonging to them.
The public prosecutor interrogated the suspects after arresting them, but all denied the charges.
Meanwhile, a video clip from the police showed the victim at the site of the incident surrounded by a large group of men. In another clip the victim is seen walking on the road with the accused chasing her in a car and on a motorcycle.
The woman said in a televised statement: “I am now afraid to go to the village. They are threatening me with death and throwing nitric acid on my face if I do not give up on the case. They watch me everywhere under my house and know all my moves. Their lawyer made a live video that tarnished my honor and determined where I was, which proved that they were watching me.”
She also accused the men of launching a smear campaign against her on Facebook and creating a hashtag to turn the public against her.
“They threatened the owner of the building where my family resides, and my family will leave the house because of me. They also threatened the reputation of my siblings.”
