Egypt’s top prosecutor referred on Saturday two policemen to the criminal court for the abduction and indecent assault of a girl inside a police car.
The policemen were arrested on December 21, 2014, after the girl accused them of sexual assault, reported state-run al-Ahram.
The prosecution charged the two policemen with abduction, indecent assault, “committing an obscene act in public”, and arrest without a warrant.
A judicial source said the charges could lead to sending the policemen to life in prison, reported state-run news agency MENA.
Investigation revealed that the two policemen stopped a private car where the victim was riding with a male friend, the prosecution said in a statement. The policemen asked for the passengers’ IDs and “forced” the girl to get into the police car under the pretext that they would drive her home.
The girl was then taken to a “remote area”, where the policemen “stripped her naked” and “indecently assaulted her”, the prosecution said. The girl screamed for help and was consequently able to escape the assault.
The Forensics Authority’s medical report proved that seminal fluids on the girl’s clothes match those of one of the two policemen. It was the same policeman the girl had earlier accused of sexually assaulting her.
The policemen were released on bail last week, yet the prosecution challenged the release order. They remain preventively detained.
Sexual harassment and assault are common occurrences which Egypt’s women have long suffered from.
A United Nations report released in April 2013 revealed that 99.3 percent of Egypt’s women reported being subjected to sexual harassment, while 96.5 percent reported being sexually assaulted.
Last June, Egypt’s former interim President Adli Mansour amended articles in the penal code to establish harsher punishment for sexual harassment.
Comments (0)