CAIRO: Egyptian-American journalist Mona el-Tahawy says she was subjected to hours of sexual assault by Egyptian early this morning. El-Tahawy posted details on her Twitter account after being released from custody by military intelligence shortly after noon on Thursday. She was detained by Egypt's Central Security Forces sometime before 3:44am Cairo time on Thursday, when she tweeted, “Beaten arrested in interior ministry.” "Besides beating me, the dogs of CSF subjected me to the worst sexual assault ever," el-Tahawy said later in a post on Twitter. "5 or 6 surrounded me, groped and prodded my breasts, grabbed my genital area and I lost count how many hands tried to get into my trousers," she said. "My left arm and right hand are broken (according) to xrays," she said after visiting the hospital. She also posted a picture of herself with casts on both arms. El-Tahawy is an award-winning freelance journalist and public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues based in New York. “The past 12 hrs were painful and surreal but I know I got off much much easier than so many other Egyptians,” she said. She also said that military intelligence apologized to her “for what CSF did,” took pictures of her bruises, took her statement regarding the sexual assault and said they would investigate. They also “said they had no idea why I was there. Then who does??!” she added. El-Tahawy was arrested by CSF near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square early Thursday morning. At least 38 people have died and thousands have been injured since clashes began on Saturday morning.
