The Egyptian prosecution announced Wednesday (August 26th) that it had ordered the arrest of nine suspects of the gang rape of a young woman in a large hotel in Cairo, seven of whom are currently abroad. " The public prosecutor took legal steps to arrest the fugitives who are accused of assaulting a young woman at the Fairmont Nile City hotel in 2014, " he said in a statement, adding that he had been informed by the police that " seven of the accused targeted by an arrest warrant had left the country by plane " on an unspecified date.
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The prosecution is also trying to locate two other suspects, one of whom " has been accused in a similar case " of rape, he said. He did not identify any of the suspects wanted. In a brief statement released Monday, the prosecution announced it had " ordered the arrest of people who committed an act of misconduct against a woman at the Fairmont hotel in 2014 ", adding that the suspects had been placed on airport travel ban lists. But their number had not been communicated.
The alleged assault went under the radar, until accusations arose on social networks in July, including the Assault Police account (" Police harassment "). According to this account, a group of six men drugged and raped a young woman in the five-star hotel.
The names and photos of the defendants, from wealthy families, have been circulated widely online, but AFP has not been able to verify their authenticity. The Egyptian prosecution had announced in early August the opening of an investigation into these rape accusations, indicating that it had " received a letter from the National Council of Women, accompanied by a complaint " lodged by a woman " who had suffered sexual assault from the share of several people at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel in Cairo in 2014 ”.
The press release also mentioned " testimonies from people with knowledge " of this case. The hotel declared for its part to have carried out an internal investigation, affirming that it had never been reported of this incident near the hotel or the tourist police force . A 2013 study by UN Women found that 99% of Egyptian women had been sexually, verbally or physically harassed at some point in their lives.