A human rights organization has urged security authorities to provide protection for Sahar Mamdouh, a prime witness in the murder of a young woman who killed after being sexually harassed in Assiut, Upper Egypt.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said Mamdouh, a friend of the victim, Iman Mostafa Salama, had received threats urging her to withdraw her testimony against Ramadan Nasser, the suspect detained for the crime.
Nassar was arrested 20 September. Prosecutors have renewed his detention for another 15 days.
The organization quoted Mamdouh as saying that on 10 September, on her way home with Salama, Nasser passed by on a motorbike with his brother and groped Salama's breast, prompting her to curse at him. She said Nasser slapped the victim in the face before firing with his machine gun at her neck. Mamdouh said she ran away after the killing and that Nasser's brother prevented him from chasing her.
The organization added that Mamdouh's account conforms that of Mohsen Shreit, chief investigator at Fatah Police Department in Assiut, who had said that Nasser admitted the sexual harassment and guided police to the weapon he used in the crime.
The organization voiced its concerns over the ongoing threats to the witness from Nasser's family. It added that Souad Ahmed, a reporter for independent daily Al-Watan, who first reported on the crime, has been afraid to enter the village again after she had been told that Nasser was seeking revenge against her.
