Egypt Police Arrest 17 Men Following Mass Sexual Assault Video

From Egyptian Streets. This is an English language report in Egypt taken from a local Arabic newspaper; the story of the assault is starting to appear in British and US newspapers today. 

Egyptian authorities announced on Wednesday night that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding a video depicting mass sexual assault of an Egyptian woman by a large group of men.

According to local reports, police arrested 17 young men suspected of being in the place at the time of the incident. They also questioned more than 20 people in the same area.

The video, which went viral in Egypt, appeared to show an unidentified woman being assaulted by a number of men in public at night.

In the video, filmed in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, the woman is seen standing alone in a shopping centre when a mob gathers at the foot of a set of stairs beneath her.

A number of local media outlets, including El Balad, claim that the video took place on New Year’s Day after a woman exited a store, and then a mob of young men assaulted her and ripped her clothes apart.

The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights called for the presence of more police in the streets to ensure the safety of women from sexual harassment, as the crime is not committed against one person, but against the society as a whole, and all women suffer from it.

In response to the recurrence of the incidents,  Al-Azhar Mosque released a statement denouncing harassment on Twitter.

It’s all well and good making arrests, but are these the guilty men, and if they are will they be charged, convicted and given a suitable sentence? I fear not..