Muslim Brotherhood 'paying gangs to go out and rape women and beat
men protesting in Egypt' as thousands of demonstrators pour on to the
streets
- Activists claim there have been nearly 20 attacks in the last 10 days
- Country has seen rise in mob sex attacks on protestors in the last year
- Demonstrators in Tahrir Square yesterday protested against a draft constitution approved by allies of President Morsi
- Muslim Brotherhood today marched in support of the president
Egypt's ruling party is paying gangs
of thugs to sexually assault women protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square
against President Mohamed Morsi, activists said.
They
also said the Muslim Brotherhood is paying gangs to beat up men who are
taking part in the latest round of protests, which followed a decree by
President Morsi to give himself sweeping new powers.
It
comes as the Muslim Brotherhood co-ordinated a demonstration today in
support of President Mohamed Morsi, who is rushing through a
constitution to try to defuse opposition fury over his newly expanded
powers.
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Danger: women protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square face the increased danger of sexual assault by large gangs of men
Egyptian supporters of Muslim Brotherhood taking
part in a demonstration near Cairo University, in Cairo, in support of
President Mohamed Morsi's recent constitutional declaration
Just 24 hours earlier around 200,000
people gathered in Tahrir Square, the heart of last year's revolution
which toppled President Hosni Mubarak, yesterday to protest against a
new draft constitution.
Large marches from around Cairo
flowed into the square, chanting 'Constitution: Void!' and The people
want to bring down the regime.'
But amid the calls for democracy a sinister threat has emerged.
Magda
Adly, the director of the Nadeem Centre for Human Rights, said that
under Mubarak, the Government paid thugs to beat male protestors and
sexually assault women.
'This
is still happening now,' she told The Times. 'I believe thugs are being
paid money to do this ... the Muslim Brotherhood have the same
political approaches as Mubarak,' she said.
RAW VIDEO: Egyptian Protests continue into the night:
Huge rally: Tens of thousands of Islamists demonstrated in Cairo today in support of Morsi
Devout: Muslim Brotherhood supporters perform a prayer as they stage a rally in front of Cairo's University
One protestor, Yasmine, told the
newspaper how she had been in the square filming the demonstrations for a
few hours when the crowd suddenly turned.
Before
she knew what was happening, about 50 men had surrounded her and began
grabbing her breasts. She said they ripped off her clothes, starting
with her headscarf and for nearly an hour, indecently assaulted her with
their hands.
A few men
tried to help her but they were beaten away. Eventually some residents
who had seen the attack from their windows came to her aid and an
elderly couple pulled her into their home. She suffered internal
injuries and was unable to walk for a week.
Four of Yasmine's friends were also sexually assaulted in the square that day, in the summer.
Show of force: Today's rally, organized by the
Muslim Brotherhood, are an attempt to counteract large opposition
protests held earlier this week by liberal and secular groups
Protest: liberal opponents of President Morsi
took to the streets yesterday angry at his decision to grant himself
sweeping new powers
Afaf el-Sayed, a journalist and
activist, told the newspaper she was assaulted by a group of men while
protesting in Tahrir Square just over a month ago and she was sure her
attackers were 'thugs from the Muslim Brotherhood'.
In February 2011 the correspondent for the American network CBS, Lara Logan,
endured a half-hour sexual assault in Tahrir Square by a group of men.
She said after the ordeal that she had been 'raped with their hands'.
While
the exact frequency of these attacks is unknown, activists have
reported nearly 20 attacks in the last ten days and say there has been a
dramatic increase in mob sex attacks on protestors in the last year.
Most
attacks take place in one particular corner of the square, at roughly
the same time every evening, and usually starts with a group of men
forming a human chain around women as if to protect them.
Sit in: Anti-Morsi protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday night
Terror: CBS Correspondent Lara Logan described
her assault by a mob in Tahrir Square as being 'raped with their hands'.
This photo was taken moments before the attack
Yasmine said she was almost sure the
assault was planned. She managed to throw her camera to a friend and was
able to watch the footage later. She told The Times: 'Just before the
attack it looks like men are getting into position. They look like
they're up to something, they don't look like random protestors.'
The
newspaper spoke to two men who admitted they were paid to target female
protestors. Victor and Tutu, both in their thirties, said they operate
in a group of around 65 local men and got paid between £10 and £20 a
time. But they would not reveal who pays them.
'We're
told to go out and sexually harass girls so they leave the
demonstration,' Victor told The Times. He said the aim was to cause
disruption and instil fear in protesters. He said members of the public
sometimes joined in.
Protestors in Tahrir Square yesterday angrily vowed to bring down a draft constitution approved by allies of President Morsi.
Face-off: Some demonstrators yesterday wore
masks, such as this man, who has an 'anonymous' mask on the back of his
head similar to those worn by Occupy protestors in the US last year
Religious liberty: although this protestor holds
up a Qu'ran and a crucifix, human rights groups warn that the draft
constitution is bad news for minorities in Egypt such as the Coptic
Christian community
The protests have highlighted an
increasingly united opposition leadership of prominent liberal and
secular politicians trying to direct public anger against Morsi and the
Islamists - a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year which
toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Figures
from a new leadership coalition took the stage to address the crowds.
The coalition, known as the National Salvation Front, includes prominent
democracy advocate Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, leftist
Hamdeen Sabbahi and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
'We
are determined to continue with all peaceful means, whatever it takes
to defend our legitimate rights,' ElBaradei told the crowd. He later
posted on Twitter that Morsi and his allies are "staging a coup against
democracy" and that the regime's legitimacy 'is eroding'.
Sabbahi vowed protests would go on until 'we topple the constitution'.
The
opposition announced plans for an intensified street campaign of
protests and civil disobedience and even a possible march on Morsi's
presidential palace to prevent him from calling a nationwide referendum
on the draft, which it must pass to come into effect. Top judges
announced Friday they may refuse to monitor any referendum, rendering it
invalid.
Oppression: An anti-Morsi protester chains his
hands during yesterday's demonstrations, to symbolise the rule of the
Muslim Brotherhood
A protester in a Pharaoh headdress holds up a
placard reading 'no to a dictator' during a demonstration on Tahrir
Square on Friday
If a referendum is called, 'we
will go to him at the palace and topple him,' insisted one protester,
Yasser Said, a businessman who said he voted for Morsi in last summer's
presidential election.
Islamists,
however, are gearing up as well. The Muslim Brotherhood drummed up
supporters for its own mass rally today and boasted the turnout would
show that the public supports Morsi's efforts to push through a
constitution.
Brotherhood
activists in several cities handed out fliers calling for people to come
out and "support Islamic law". A number of Muslim clerics in Friday
sermons in the southern city of Assiut called the president's opponents
"enemies of God and Islam".
The week-long unrest has already seen
clashes between Islamists and the opposition that left two dead and
hundreds injured. On Friday, Morsi opponents and supporters rained
stones and firebombs on each other in the cities of Alexandria and
Luxor.
Struggle: opponents of President Morsi vowed to
keep fighting until the constitution rushed through by the Government is
thrown out
Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi
chant pro-Morsi slogans during a protest in front of the Sultan Hassan
and Refaie Mosques' at the old town in Cairo on Friday
The Islamist-led assembly that
worked on the draft for months passed it in a rushed, 16-hour session
that lasted until sunrise on Friday.
The
vote was abruptly moved up to pass the draft before Egypt's
Constitutional Court rules on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly.
Liberal, secular and Christian members and secular members had already
quit the council to protest what they call Islamists' hijacking of the
process.
The draft was to be sent to Morsi today to decide on a date for a referendum, possibly in mid-December.
The
draft has a distinctive Islamic bent - enough to worry many that civil
liberties could be restricted, though its provisions for enforcing
Sharia, or Islamic law, are not as firm as ultra-conservatives wished.
Protests
were first sparked when Morsi last week issued decrees granting himself
sweeping powers that neutralized the judiciary. Morsi said the move was
needed to stop the courts - where anti-Islamist or Mubarak-era judges
hold many powerful posts - from dissolving the assembly and further
delaying Egypt's transition.
Opponents,
however, accused Morsi of grabbing near-dictatorial powers by
sidelining the one branch of government he doesn't control.
