Egypt's Public Prosecution releases statement on sexual predator Ahmed Bassam Zaki

 Egypt’s General Prosecutor has officially ordered the detainment of accused rapist and sexual harasser Ahmed Bassam Zaki Tue, Jul. 7, 2020
CAIRO – 7 July 2020: Egypt’s General Prosecutor has officially ordered the detainment of accused rapist and sexual harasser Ahmed Bassam Zaki for four days pending investigation, an official statmenet by the General Prosecution’s Office said on Monday.

According to the statement, “Zaki is accused of raping two girls, indecently assaulting another girl by force – one of them was under 18 years old –, threatening and blackmailing other women into sexual intercourse.”

"He is also accused of inciting immorality, stalking, violating society value by violating his victims’ privacy through constant texting without their consent using his social media accounts.

"The court ordered that he shall be remanded in custody for further fifteen days,” the statement said.

The statement also said one of the victims provided evidence that Zaki texted her via Whatsapp in November 2016 and threatened her that he would contact her family and claim she is committing adultery and using narcotics unless she agrees to have a sexual intercourse with him.

Moreover, the prosecution questioned four girls and a child who all filed reports against Zaki. They witnessed that he contacted them via social media and started engaging in dramatic experiences that he used to claim going through or seducing them until they agree to meet him and then rape them once they reach a safe place.

After a while he would recontact his victims and threaten them that he would expose them with footage and pictures that he captured while raping them. He would also seduce girls into sending him nudes and later force them into meeting him and having sexual relations lest he exposes them.

The statement also said the prosecution interrogated Zaki who confessed meeting online with around six girls who sent him nude photos of themselves, which he used to threaten them later.

The Public Prosecution also affirmed statements by Al-Azhar and Dar Al-Iftaa that rape is a crime against all religion and humanity, stressing utmost attention to this case.

The statement also implored parents to build up trust with their children and raise them according to the good values of society and religion.

The prosecution also called upon citizens to respect the privacy of others and preserving the guidelines and good manners while using social media platforms and warned against sharing fake news.

Multiple Egyptian girls and women have filed official complaints against Zaki with the backing of the National Council of Women (NCW) and in the presence of lawmen and official authorities.

In a post on Instagram, Sabah Khodir, an activist in the case, shared one response she received from a woman who provided her official statement on Sunday.

“I was honestly very scared but when I came in and met the lawyer and the judge, honestly I was so surprised how supportive they were,” said the woman to Khodir, expressing happiness and pride for filing the complaint.

“The judge told me once I came in ‘I believe you. You’re not here to convince us of your story. Even if you were mid-intercourse with this person and you decided you didn’t want to do it anymore and he forced you to keep going, that’s still rape’ – and I was so surprised because I didn’t expect them to be so supportive.”

Zaki was detained on Saturday pending further investigations into allegations he raped, sexually assaulted and sexually harassed dozens of Egyptian and foreign women and girls.