The debate over child sexual abuse in Egypt is far from resolved. Lina Mahmoud reports In a press conference last week Prosecutor- General Maher Abdel-Wahed announced the closure of the Maadi nursery case on the grounds of "insufficient evidence". He said that the preliminary medical examination conducted by the Ministry of Health was "not accurate" and was based more on the children's testimonies than on accurate examination. Moreover, the prosecutor-general blamed journalists for revealing the suspects' names and reporting on the case before the suspects were proven guilty. "This is harmful for Egypt's reputation," he added. Finally, he appealed to journalists to publish the suspects' innocence to "restore their dignity". Three weeks ago, three parents reported that their sons were raped by the owner of the nursery the children attended and by two other teachers. The owner of Norhan nursery in Maadi and the two teachers were arrested and accused of child molestation. The prosecutor initially ordered them to be remanded in custody for 15 days, and then for another 30, pending investigations. The Ministry of Health report assured that the boys were raped. However, after the accused had spent 17 days behind bars, the prosecutor- general surprisingly announced their innocence and closed the case basing his decision on another forensic report that said that the children had not been molested. "It is a political decision. It seems that there was no other alternative but to close the file," said Hani Hilal, director of the Egyptian Centre for the Rights of the Child (ECRC). He explained that such a case is seen as harmful to the country's reputation, and claiming that the incident did not happen constitutes the easier option. Hilal declared that his centre is convinced that the three children were molested and will continue to support them by campaigning to have the case re-opened. Over the past week, the Egyptian press voiced different reactions. Some followed the advice of the prosecutor-general and reported extensively on the innocence of the three men. Others did not comment, like the mouthpiece of the liberal Wafd Party, although Al-Wafd was the newspaper that first "revealed" the case. Nevertheless, newspapers continued to discuss the situation of nurseries in Egypt and child sexual abuse. Last week, there were reports of the arrest of a primary school teacher after he was accused of sexually harassing four nine-year-old female students. Moreover, 98 nurseries were shut down in Al-Qalyubiya governorate as they lacked proper licences. Non-governmental and human rights organisations expressed their disappointment over the closure of the Maadi case and their concern about the children. "If we are concerned about Egypt's reputation then we should take measures to stop violence rather than ignore the whole issue," Magda Adly from El-Nadim Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence told Al-Ahram Weekly. She added that violence should be resisted by stating the facts and prosecuting the suspects fairly. "We all know that the children who were molested are much more than the three who reported the case. The victims are estimated to be more than 30 young boys and girls but their families did not report the incidents out of fear of scandal. Now that some newspapers have published the names of the victims and their addresses and still, the perpetrators were set free, they are more convinced of not reporting the case," Adly said . In a statement, El-Nadim Centre announced that the closure of the file does not mean that the abuse did not take place. Both El-Nadim Centre and ECRC challenged the forensic report, as "child molestation doesn't require physical marks on the body or penetration. The perpetrator can be very careful not to leave a physical proof on his crime," Adly told the Weekly. She added that the forensic report came three or four days after the primary Ministry of Health report had come through. This time lag allowed the marks on the children's bodies to disappear, because children's bodies are more flexible and wounds on their bodies heal quickly. Adly affirmed that as a doctor experienced in treating victims of violence, she believes that the children are indeed victims of sexual abuse. "Their testimonies are enough to judge that their molestation is real. They are very young and cannot create sexual scenarios like this unless they actually had happened. One of them still has marks on his legs from the beating before and after the sexual actions [inflicted] in order to scare him not to tell anybody," she added. On the other hand, the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP) announced its support for the three former suspects and even called on the attorney-general "to open investigations with newspapers that published reports condemning the suspects opposing Article No. 187 of the penal code". Galal Aref, chairman of the Press Syndicate, expressed his alarm over the HRAAP statement wondering how a Human Rights organisation can call for the arrest of journalists. In its statement, El-Nadim Centre agreed that journalists should not mention names of suspects. But its representatives also wonder: "Why are they not alarmed at [their] publishing [of] the victims' names and addresses?" Adly expressed her worry about the psychological condition of the children. "They are all still scared of the dark and closed doors. One of the children wants to kill himself. Another one keeps dreaming of the incident. The third was scared when he found out that the perpetrators were set free," Adly told the Weekly. "Their parents are traumatised too. They became very short-tempered and some of them don't even want to look at their children," she added.
