Seven men were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison over sexual assaults at Cairo's Tahrir Square, following a pledge by Egypt's new authorities to tackle an epidemic in such crimes. Since the 2011 uprising which toppled president Hosni Mubarak, cases of sexual harassment have soared in Egypt, with women regularly attacked at rallies by mobs in and around Tahrir, the epicentre of demonstrations. A Cairo court also sentenced two other defendants to 20 years in prison over the assaults since January 2013.
The attacks took place on June 3 and 8 as revellers celebrated Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's presidential election victory and inauguration, and on January 25, 2013 when Egypt marked the second anniversary of the anti-Mubarak revolt. The defendants were found guilty of kidnapping, rape, sexual attacks, attempted murder and torture of a number of women during the rallies. The court ordered the nine convicts to be placed under police surveillance for five years after they have served their prison terms.
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