Abu Dhabi: The Egyptian security authorities arrested on Tuesday a man accused of sexual harassment of a girl in Cairo, after a wave of condemnation in the country following the spread of a video clip documenting the incident on social media platforms, local media reported.
The Egyptian Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the security services arrested a man to uncover the circumstances of a video clip posted on Facebook, “in which a person harasses a girl in the Maadi area in Cairo.”
The statement indicated that the man was presented to the Public Prosecution Office to investigate the matter.
Outrage has spread across Egyptian social media after footage of a man sexually harassing a homeless child at the entrance of a residential building in Maadi began circulating.
Witnesses said the victim frequently begs at Horreya Square, in Maadi, a leafy suburban district south of Cairo.
They added the incident occurred in front of a medical laboratory located on a Maadi property. The woman who first published the video on social media works at the lab.
The woman saw the man on the laboratory’s surveillance camera, which prompted her to go out and confront him until he ran off.
Outraged social media users demanded that the police arrest the perpetrator swiftly.
The video shows the harasser luring the child away to the entrance of the property by a staircase. He then begins touching her inappropriately, while checking to make sure no one is around. The woman rushes out of the lab’s door to confront him, leading to an argument before he fled.
The woman who witnessed the incident and posted the video on her Facebook page wrote: “The incident took place on Horreya Square in Maadi area, inside a property. The harasser called the young girl, and then did what he did as you could see. When I confronted him with the camera and insulted him, he ran away. He must be held accountable.”
For its part, the Islamic Research Academy of the Al Azhar issued a statement confirming that “child molestation is forbidden, and prohibited by all laws.”
“This feverish and blameworthy fury, requires the most severe deterrent penalties, and its criminalisation must be absolute,” the statement added.
