Several Fairmont witnesses told Human Rights Watch that authorities have banned them from traveling, whereas the prosecution waited weeks before moving to arrest the accused, allowing seven of them to flee the country. Nazli Karim, a 28-year-old witness, said she was accused of “promoting homosexuality” for having a rainbow flag filter on one of her social media pictures. HRW called on prosecutors to immediately drop all abusive charges and investigations against the witnesses in the Fairmont case. Investigations into the Fairmont case began after Egypt’s Public Prosecution received a report on August 4 stating that a gang rape has allegedly occurred at the hotel during a private party in 2014. Testimonies about the incident have circulated on social media, with demands to arrest and prosecute the suspects, all of whom belong to wealthy and influential families.

Source: Egypt Independent February 09, 2021 09:11 UTC