Egypt Gang Jailed For Tahrir Square Attacks

Several members of a gang which carried out a series of rapes on women in the Egyptian capital Cairo have been jailed for life.

In the first attack, a mother who was in the Tahrir Square area with her daughter was dragged to a spot near a mosque, stripped, beaten and then scalded with hot water before being sexually attacked.

During the second attack, five days later, a group of women in the square, aged between 17 and 42, were grabbed by members of the same gang as that which carried out the first attack, separated and beaten.

A court heard that the group also threatened to kidnap the children of one of the women.

Five defendants behind bars for attacking women in Cairo

The prosecutions come after Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al Sisi promised to crack down on what many say is an epidemic of sexual abuse of women following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks that led to the prosecutions took place on June 3 and 8 as revellers celebrated Mr al Sisi's presidential election victory and inauguration.

After the inauguration, a video emerged and was circulated on social media, showing a woman being assaulted in Tahrir Square.

The attacks took place in Tahrir Square

The blurry, two-minute clip, which was said to have been filmed on June 8, showed a woman completely naked and bruised with hordes of men around her as she was carried into a vehicle.

Shortly afterwards, Mr al Sisi visited a victim of an attack in a Cairo hospital and told her: "I have come to tell you and every Egyptian woman that I am sorry. I am apologising to every Egyptian woman."

The seven defendants responsible for the two attacks, aged 16 to 49, were found guilty of sexual harassment, kidnap, attempted rape, attempted murder and torture.

President al Sisi promised action after his inauguration

Five were sentenced to life and are expected to be released in 25 years. Another defendant, aged 16, was jailed for 20 years and a 19-year-old was given two 20-year jail terms.

One of the five men was also sentenced to life, along with two other men, for separate charges of attacking another woman in January 2013.

After the verdicts were announced, a woman involved in one of the cases cried with relief in the courtroom.

Rape victim Hania Moheeb is among those who have called for action

Activists have repeatedly accused the government of turning a blind eye to the country's rampant phenomenon of sexual violence.

A study conducted last year by the UN showed 99.3% of Egyptian women have experienced some form of harassment, with around half (47%) claiming they are harassed daily.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros said: "It is an endemic problem and has become part of Egyptian culture - a dysfunctional yet accepted norm."

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