CAIRO: An elderly Egyptian woman seen on a video being beaten by soldiers, spoke out about her assault, saying she was hit and detained with other women for over an hour at the Cabinet building on Friday. Khadiga, also known as Mama Khadiga mother of the square as activists call her, said she was slapped and dragged by soldiers who insulted her and called her names, despite her pleas for mercy. She told Reem Maged, the host of Baldna Bel-Masry on ON TV on Sunday night that she felt most horrible about having to apologize to the officer who was assaulting her in order to get released. “Very hard feeling that you have to say sorry to someone who is insulting you,” Mama Khadiga said. She said that they were taken to the building and kept in a room with other women, while soldiers passing by insulted and hit them. “They were keeping themselves entertained at our expense,” she said. Another young woman's image being dragged on the pavement, with her dress torn open revealing her bra, while a soldier is ready to hit her with his heavy military boot on her chest with his right leg, was spread widely on social networks in the country. The image has raised anger in Egypt towards the military and made international headlines around the world. The military and police have escalated its violence against protesters to unprecedented levels over the past three days. In a press conference held by the military council on Monday, General Adel Emarra said the protesters used “excessive force against the soldiers, causing injuries and one death.” Videos shared by activists show tremendous force towards the protesters, which killed 14 people, 7 of them from gun shot, including a 14-year-old boy, and over 700 injured. Many wounded are in critical condition at local hospitals, raising fears over the possible increase of the death toll. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/tEuA7 Tags: Assault, Occupy Cabinet, Protests, SCAF Section: Egypt, Latest News, Sexual Harassment, Women
