Women Accuse Egyptian Military of Sexual Assault - USATODAY.com
Women protesters and rights groups on Wednesday accused Egyptian troops and prison authorities of sexual assault during the latest crackdown on demonstrations, reviving allegations they are using abuse to intimidate female detainees and protesters.
Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim, attends an anti Military Supreme Council protest in Tahrir square, Cairo, Egypt.
The charges added new tension to Egypt’s presidential election campaign, just two weeks before the voting.
More than a dozen women were among more than 300 protesters detained following a protest outside the Defense Ministry in Cairo last weekend.
In charges that recalled dark incidents from earlier protests, rights activist Aida Seif al-Dawla said that female prison guards sexually assaulted some women by inspecting their vaginas under the pretext of searching for drugs.
“This is a sexual assault,” activist Seif al-Dawla said. “The women are injured, physically and emotionally.”
