Egypt has referred on Monday three defendants from the high-profile case known as the 'Cairo Fairmont hotel rape case' to criminal court for another rape that dates back to 2015, a statement by the general prosecutor's office read. The prosecution ordered that the three men be referred to criminal court over the rape of a woman in a resort in the Mediterranean's North Coast in 2015. The statement said that the prosecution has provided evidence against the defendants from the testimony of the victim and six other witnesses. A video showing two of the men sexually assaulting the woman was also part of the evidence provided, the statement said, adding that the forensics department has confirmed the identity of the woman in the video and one of the defendants currently in custody. This is the first referral of defendants involved in the 2014 hotel rape case by the prosecution the case came to light and stirred public outrage in Egypt. The move by the prosecution comes a few days after a criminal court ordered the 45-day detention, pending investigations, of four of the men involved in the hotel rape case. The case went viral in July after an anonymous Instagram account published posts accusing a group of young men hailing from affluent and powerful families of being involved in a gang rape following a party at the Cairo hotel. It gained widespread attention on social media, spawning viral hashtags in Arabic and English, including "#Fairmont incident." The government recently passed laws stiffening jail sentences and fines for sexual offenders. Last year, Egypt approved a bill proposed by the justice ministry to keep the identity of sex crime victims confidential.
