Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities announced on Saturday evening that its security forces had arrested three Egyptians implicated in the gang rape of a young woman at the Fairmont Nile City hotel in Cairo in 2014.

In a statement on Facebook, the Lebanese General Directorate of Internal Security Forces said it had acted to arrest the three Egyptians after receiving a notice from Interpol.

“On 27 August, the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces received a memo from the office of the Interpol in Egypt which consisted of the names of seven Egyptians, located in Lebanon, accused of raping a woman in 2014 at a hotel in Cairo and that a video of the incident was recently received by the Egyptian judiciary,” read the statement.

The statement continued that security forces acted immediately to conduct necessary investigations, but that only three Egyptians were still in Lebanon at the time the memo from Interpol was received.

The three Egyptians had left the hotels they were staying in, with their belongings abandoned in their hotel rooms. However, the statement added that Lebanese forces were able to locate the three Egyptians after further investigations and arrested them on 28 August 2020 at a hideout.

Egyptian Streets has chosen not to name the three Egyptians who have been arrested in Lebanon pending an official statement from the Egyptian Public Prosecution or Egyptian authorities.

Egyptian Streets understands that news of the international arrests had been kept quiet by Egyptian authorities as security forces are still trying to locate at least two Egyptians implicated in the gang rape (and other related rapes) of the young woman in 2014 at the Fairmont Nile City hotel. The two Egyptians are believed to have fled Egypt.

Earlier this week, the Egyptian Public Prosecution announced that it had arrested accused rapist Amir Zayed as he attempted to flee Egypt to another country. The Public Prosecution also said that it was coordinating with Interpol to capture seven other accused rapists who fled Egypt.

In a statement published on Facebook, the Public Prosecution said that it had ordered Zayed’s detention pending investigations into an incident “similar” to the gang rape of a young woman at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel in 2014, now widely known as the ‘Fairmont Incident’ and the ‘Fairmont Crime’ (جريمة الفيرمونت).

What is the Fairmont Crime?

The Fairmont crime involved the drugging and gang rape of a young woman at a private after party at the five-star Fairmont Nile City hotel. The rape was captured on video and allegedly shared by the alleged rapists and their acquaintances.

The alleged gang rape of the young woman had remained unspoken about for years, only to come to light publicly after the landmark Ahmed Bassam Zaki case, which saw the alleged serial rapist and harasser arrested after being accused of rape and sexual abuse by dozens of women.

Both male and female acquaintances of the alleged rapists were aware of sexual crimes committed by the accused gang rapists, but remained silent – some out of fear and others out of solidarity.

Speaking to Egyptian Streets, a number of sources confirmed the presence of a number of the alleged rapists at the scene of the alleged crime on 21 February 2014.

An investigative report by Egyptian Streets published on Tuesday 5 August revealed that the victim was drugged, repeatedly raped and degraded by a number of men.

Egyptian Streets also received information that evidence has been received by lawyers in relation to at least one other alleged related rape carried out by some of the men allegedly involved in the Fairmont crime and that, as of Tuesday 4 August 2020, official legal complaints have been filed.

Egyptian Streets’ full report, including information about the evidence that has come to light and details of the various sexual crimes, is available by clicking here.

Any victims of sexual crimes or domestic abuse in Egypt needing support or willing to come forward to expose their abusers can contact the National Council for Women at 15115 for assistance.

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