Medic at Center of Egypt 'Virginity Test' Trial Speaks Out

March 11, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

An Egyptian military doctor has been acquitted of forcing female protesters to undergo virginity tests. "I've been vilified by the media. Only one side was represented and I couldn't say anything because I was a conscript. The plaintiff's allegations are nonsense. I'd been waiting for this fair verdict," said Ahmed Adel the doctor accused of conducting forced virginity tests on seven female protesters rounded up by the military last year. Seventeen women said they had been violated while in military custody after rallies held last March. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh was one of the few journalists in court to hear the ruling.

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Egypt

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Most of its territory of 1,010,000 square kilometers lies within North Africa and i... Explore this topic

Ahmed Adel

Ahmed Adel is an Egyptian military doctor who was accused of performing forced virginity tests on women arrested during protests in March, 2011. He was acquitted in March 2012 following a trial. Explore this topic

Virginity test

A virginity test is the practice and process of determining whether a female person is a virgin, i.e., whether she has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The test involves an inspection of a female's hymen, on the assumption that her hymen can only be torn as a result of sex... Explore this topic

Samira Ibrahim

Samira Ibrahim says she was the victim of sexual assault, including a forced "virginity test," at the hands of Egyptian military doctors following her arrest at a protest in March, 2011. Defying Egyptian social norms, she went public with her claims by posting a video online d... Explore this topic

Women in Egypt

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Egyptian Army

The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces, and is the largest army in the Arab World, and Africa. It is estimated to number around personnel 468,500, in addition 1,000,000 reservists for a total of 1,468,500 strong. The modern army was es... Explore this topic

Trial

In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, which may occur before a judge, jury, or other designated tr... Explore this topic

Egyptian Revolution

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 took place following a popular uprising that began on 25 January 2011. It was a diverse movement of demonstrations, marches, plaza occupations, riots, non-violent civil resistance, acts of civil disobedience and labor strikes. Millions of protes... Explore this topic

Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square, also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt. Explore this topic

Protest

An act of defiance or objection by an individual or group of people. Protests can take many forms: peaceful or violent, direct or indirect, large or small. Protests in the news are often political in nature, as groups of citizens voice their disagreement or dissatisfaction. Pr... Explore this topic

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Egyptian Military Doctor Not Guilty of Forced Virginity Tests

ABC News (Australia) | Mar 12

An Egyptian military court has acquitted Ahmed Adel, an army doctor who was accused of conducting forced virginity tests on female protesters in Ma...