Alexandria female protesters referred to trial

Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat referred on Monday 21 Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated female protesters to court on charges of vandalizing public and private properties, blocking roads, possessing knives and belonging to a banned organization.

Defense attorney Ayman Dally told Mada Masr earlier in the day that the families of the detained, seven of whom are minors, were awaiting word on whether they would face trial.

The women and girls, aged 15 to 22, were arrested on October 31 when they attempted to form a human chain on Alexandria’s Corniche during a protest against deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office.

The prosecutor general claimed in a statement Monday that five unidentified assailants were responsible for inciting violence during the protest and were hiding behind the female detainees, according to privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The statement also said the defendants have denied the charges against them.

Their attorney, Dally, also said claims from Muslim Brotherhood activists that the detainees have been subjected to virginity and pregnancy tests are false. He said the women and girls are being held in separate quarters from other inmates and are being treated well.

"We have to be fair, they are receiving excellent treatment. One of the girls received a cake on her birthday,” he told Mada Masr. “The only problem we face is with the minors who are not separated from other criminal female inmates.”