Egypt : Authorities arrest 16 women with allegedly exert sexual violence, following protest in solidarity with Palestinian and Sudanese women

On April 23, a group of 19 women’s rights activists – and two men - who’d gathered as part of a peaceful protest in front of the UN Women office in Cairo, in solidarity with women in Palestine and Sudan were detained. The next day, detainees were brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecutor’s Office (SSSP) and questioned about charges of joining an illegal group and participating in an illegal assembly. They were released on bail the same day. On May 23, a group of released women announced they had filed a complaint with the Attorney General, alleging sexual assault during strip searches and harassment while incarcerated. Despite the prosecutor forwarding the complaint to the SSSP, no investigation has been initiated as of time of publication.

See: Amnesty International, Solondais