Forensics examines victims of Tahrir sexual assaults

State forensics announced Wednesday it had examined the seven women who were allegedly sexually attacked by mobs in Tahrir Square Sunday, Youm7 reported.
 
The women are between the ages of 17 to 42, and were in the square to celebrate the inauguration of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi according to Hesham Abdel Hamid, a forensics spokesman.
 
A detailed report about all the cases will be referred to prosecutors on Wednesday that shows the women’s injuries are the result of sexual assault, but they were not raped, according to Hamid.
 
The Qasr el-Nil prosecution also listened to testimonies of the alleged victims.
 
Prosecution head Samir Hassan said the attacks started at the same time, indicating that the mobs were “organized and systematic,” according to Youm7. He said the sexual assaults were not random because the defenders circled around the women and every one of the attackers had a specific role in the sexual assault process.
 
Hassan said these roles involved making loud noises so the crowds would not hear the women scream, and others carried knives to cut off the victims’ clothing.
 
All the attacks started at 9 p.m. according to the testimonies of the alleged victims. The prosecution said that the “scheduled” attacks were coordinated to ensure police and security forces were scattered and preoccupied.
 
One of the alleged victims told Prosecutor Amr Awad, “I decided with friends to go celebrate the inauguration of Sisi in the square, and one young man asked us to walk in the ‘safe corridor.’”
 
She added that they agreed, thinking he wanted to protect them and had good intentions, but later the man gave a signal to another group of men who quickly surrounded them to start the assault.
 
One of the victims, a mother of two girls, told Prosecutor Diaa Negm el-Din that more than 15 men circled her when the police were busy dealing with other assaults.
 
She added that her daughters, 10- and 12-years-old, were with her during the attack and she begged the attackers to let them go and take her instead, which happened later in an alley where they all took turns sexually assaulting her, Youm7 reported.
 
Sarah Arafat, a spokeswoman for “Enty Akwa” (You are stronger), an initiative to fight sexual harassment, told The Cairo Post in a phone interview Wednesday, “Sexual harassment has increased in Egypt, and this problem is built on a lack of security.”
 
She added that Tahrir Square was not properly secured during Sunday’s celebration and called on authorities to quickly and effectively apply the law against all harassers—not just the ones involved in the mob attack. Arafat said applying punishment will play a vital role in reducing these attacks.
 
According to article 267 of Egypt’s penal code, anyone who assaults a female sexually will be punished with “permanent or temporary hard labor” based on different circumstances. Article 268 adds, “Whoever indecently assaults a person by force or threat, or attempts such an assault shall be punished with hard labor for three to seven years.”