Cairo: Posts have flooded social media over the past two days, accusing a young Egyptian man of raping, harassing and blackmailing dozens of Egyptian and foreign women, sending shockwaves across the country.
Over a dozen women have turned to social media to post chilling testimonies claiming that the alleged rapist, a former student at the American University in Cairo (AUC), had blackmailed women to succumb to his sexual demands. One of his purported victims included a teenage girl.
“He harassed me, my sister and my friends. He threatened to blackmail us. I was at heart scared of him. I was only 13 or 14 at the time,” wrote a woman on an Instagram account set up by activists to expose the man, whose initials are A.B.Z.
Their stories were all the same
The anonymous woman said the man had threatened to publish obscene doctored images of them unless she bowed to his demands.
“He harassed me. He chased and threatened me hundreds of times,” wrote another on the account that has gone viral online. “One time, he threatened to tell my parents that I had sex with him when I never have. He just wanted to threaten me to submit to him and his sexual demands,” she added.
The shocking testimonies have riveted attention of women rights groups and the media in Egypt, who are putting pressure on lawmakers to take action.
The state National Council for Women, called on the alleged victims to submit theirevidence in order to build a case against the man, branded a "human wolf".
The institution also urged the concerned state bodies to investigate the matter and “take the necessary measures”.
In response, the Egyptian public prosecution on Saturday urged the purported victims to come forward and officially lodge legal complaints either in person or online in order to initiate an investigation.
The AUC, meanwhile, said the alleged predator had left it in 2018. "AUC has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and is committed to upholding a safe environment for all members of the community," the university added in a statement.
