01 June,2011 07:49 AM IST | | Agencies
Soldiers allegedly abused the women detained after rallies
Activists and bloggers are pressing Egypt's military rulers to investigate accusations of serious abuses against protesters, including claims that soldiers subjected female detainees to so-called 'virginity tests'.
Bloggers say they will hold a day of online protest today to voice their outrage, adding to criticism of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country from ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February.
The allegations arose in an Amnesty International report, which claimed female protesters were beaten, given electric shocks, strip-searched, threatened with prostitution charges and forced to submit to virginity checks
The accusations of virginity tests first surfaced after a March 9 rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square that turned violent when men in plain clothes attacked protesters and the army intervened forcefully to clear the square.
One woman who was arrested spoke out about her treatment, and Amnesty International further documented the abuse allegations in a report that found 18 female detainees were threatened with prostitution charges and forced to undergo virginity tests.
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They were also beaten up and given electric shocks, the report said.
Egypt's military rulers have come under heavy criticism from the youth protest movement, which is upset at the pace of reforms that they hope will lead Egypt to democracy.
Since Mubarak's fall on February 11, the military has led crackdowns on peaceful protests, and critics accuse it of failing to restore security in the streets or launch serious national dialogue on a clear path forward for Egypt.
The military council denied soldiers attacked protesters at the March 9 rally. But one general used a press conference to make negative remarks about women who mingle with men during the sit-ins and suggested lewd acts were taking place in protest camps.
"There were girls with young men in one tent. Is this rational? There were drugs; pay attention!" General Ismail Etman, spokesman of the council, said at the end of March.
He confirmed then that the military police arrested 17 female protesters among 170 others at the March 9 rally. He said the women were among a group of protesters given one-year suspended prison sentences.
"We secure the people. We don't use violence," he said.
