This morning in Cairo a military
court has acquitted an army doctor accused of carrying out forced
"virginity tests" on women protesters during the Egyptian revolution
last year. The military judge said he cleared the army doctor because he found
contradictions in witness statements and that he made the ruling "from
what has been proven in documents and based on my conscience," adding that
he had "not been subjected to any pressures". The army initially
denied such tests had taken place, but a senior general later admitted that
they had happened.
The military's modus operandi whenever they are accused of committing a crime: (1) claim it never
happened, (2) when it’s proven beyond doubt that it actually happened, deny
responsibility and blame "foreign hands", (3) then grudgingly admit that it did happen but
justify it by blaming the victims, (4) find a low level staff and present as a
culprit (a scapegoat) to distract the media and the public, (5) send the case to
a military court, (6) drop initial charges to a lower less serious ones (e.g., it's not "rape" but "public indecency") and (7) find the scapegoat innocent.
Last week we had the only police
officer convicted of killing protesters during the 18-day uprising cleared (details in my earlier post here) and
today the only military personnel accused of carrying out the despicable forced
“virginity test” was acquitted. Some argue that even if the “scapegoats” were
found guilty, justice would not have been served, as the real culprits remain
free and untouched. It’s not about a rogue police officer or barbaric military
doctor but a decaying regime that lost it’s head but the body is still moving
and is about to get a new head.
