Lebanese tourist referred to criminal trial for insulting Egypt on Facebook

CAIRO: A Lebanese tourist who posted a video on Facebook complaining of sexual harassment and conditions in Egypt has been referred to criminal trial and ordered to be detained for 15 days, Egypt’s public prosecutor said on Sunday.

Mona el-Mazboh has been held since Thursday when she was arrested at Cairo airport at the end of her stay in Egypt after her outspoken video went viral on social media.

In the video, Mazboh complains of being sexually harassed by taxi drivers and young men in the street, as well as poor restaurant service during the holy month of Ramadan and an incident in which money was stolen from her during a previous stay.

She could face three to five years in prison if found guilty, according to one of the lawyers who filed a complaint against her.

Referring to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was sworn in for a second term as president on Saturday, she says: “You deserve what Sisi is doing to you, I hope God sends you someone more oppressive than Sisi.”

Egyptian rights activists say they face the worst crackdown in their history under Sisi, accusing him of erasing freedoms won in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

Mazboh later posted a second video apologizing to “respectable Egyptians” for her remarks.

In a statement, the public prosecutor said Mazboh was charged with “deliberately spreading false rumors that are harmful to society and infringe upon religions.”

In a similar incident last month, Egyptian police detained activist Amal Fathy after she posted a video on social media criticizing the government for failing to protect women against sexual harassment and over worsening living conditions.