Case against army doctor accused of conducting "virginity tests" on female protesters is adjourned to 14 January as prosecutors downgrade charges against the accused soldier.
A military court has adjourned the trial of an Egyptian army doctor who allegedly subjected female protesters to compulsory "virginity tests" until 14 January.
MD Ahmed Adel Mohamed El-Mogy, a twenty-seven-year-old conscript, is accused of subjecting seven women, including protester Samira Ibrahim, to "virginity tests" against their will.
The women were initially arrested on 9 March, after the military attempted to disperse a sit-in in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. They were then taken to the notorious C28 military prosecution facility, where the tests were carried out.
Ibrahim, however, was the only one of the women to file a lawsuit against Egypt’s armed forces and ruling military council. On 27 December, the State Council Administrative Court issued a landmark ruling in Ibrahim’s favour, outlawing the use of "virginity tests" on female detainees.
In a taped account of the incident posted on YouTube, Ibrahim stated that she was taken into a room, told to undress and then subjected to the test by a man dressed in a Khaki army uniform.
Earlier this week, military prosecutors toned down the charges against El-Mogy from sexual assault to “performing an act that violates modesty."
[Developed in partnership with Ahram Online.]
From Jadaliyya Editors:
For more on Egypt Elections Watch (EEW) entries by category, click on the following links:
(1) Parties and Movements
(2) Actors and Figures
(3) Laws and Processes
To view all entries on one page, click on Egypt Elections Watch, and for EEW team members click here. Our Egypt Page can always be accessed here.