by XAN RICE
Activists call for investigation into abuse after Egyptian general admits tests were conducted and defends practice
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had previously denied claims by Amnesty International that 18 women detained in March were subjected to virginity checks and threatened with prostitution charges.
But an Egyptian general told an American television network on Monday that tests were in fact conducted, and defended the practice.
“The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine,” the general, who requested anonymity, told CNN. “These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found … molotov cocktails and [drugs].”
He said the tests were conducted so that the women would not be able to claim that they had been sexually abused while in custody.
“We didn’t want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren’t virgins in the first place,” the general said. “None of them were [virgins].”
Amnesty condemned the general’s comments and called for a full investigation.
“This general’s implication that only virgins can be victims of rape is a long-discredited sexist attitude and legal absurdity,” a statement said. “When determining a case of rape, it is irrelevant whether or not the victim is a virgin. The army must immediately instruct security forces and soldiers that such ‘tests’ are banned.”
Guardian for more