Video: Egyptian woman prosecutor in hot water after insulting officer at Cairo court, removing his insignia

CAIRO – 31 August 2020: A video showing an altercation between a police officer and a prosecutor at the country’s Administrative Prosecution Authority in a court in the capital Cairo has gone viral on social media, with the two sides being blamed for their approach.

Legally, the jangle between the lady, apparently in her forties, and the lieutenant colonel at a court in Heliopolis district has caused the woman to eventually face charges of assaulting a public employee while performing his duties, a crime punishable by law by a maximum of six months in jail or a fine of LE 200 ($12.6) at most.

Later, the lady, who also claims she is a member of the United Nations, was released on LE 2,000 ($126) bail.

The Administrative Prosecution Authority has latterly affirmed she is a member of the authority, in an official statement, adding that the chief of the authority has assigned the inspection administration to open an investigation into the incident.

What the video showed?

The video on social media showed the officer talking roughly to the lady for using the mobile camera inside the court, which he says is illegal, and for not wearing a mask.

When she told him, she is a prosecutor and a member of the United Nations, he ordered her to show her work cards or he would bring a female cop (apparently to search her for the cards), handcuff her and “throw you in custody”.

Responding to him, she publicly called him “garbage”. The cool-headed officer told her: “what? … I’m garbage? … thanks”. Now he has a recorded insult with witnesses complaining about the behavior of the woman: “Shame on you, ma’am. The man is performing his duty!”

She nervously started to use her phone, seemingly to call someone who can get her out of the trouble. The officer snatched the phone and refused to give it back to her.

That’s a moment when the woman hit the ceiling and started trying to forcibly take her phone back, finding no way to belittle him except by snatching his insignia, providing another form of assault.

A following video showed the woman accusing the officer of stealing her phone, calling him “garbage” once more, having a short physical fight with him while he was trying to prevent her from walking away, and later, forcefully resisting while the officer and two conscripts were trying to handcuff her.

Outrage, confusion

Reactions on social media varied as most of the users who reacted to the issue think the woman’s actions were inappropriate, while some others think the officer went too far and others preferred to stay neutral.

أكتر حاجة هتضايقني لو حصل تصالح ما بين سيدة النيابة و ضابط الشرطة ... كل واحد فيهم بيمثل سلطة ✋🏻 و ده في حد ذاته ممكن يفتح باب تنازلات يارب ما تحصل 🙏🏻 تمني

— ‏﮼رغدة﮼السعيد (@RaghdaaElSaeed) August 31, 2020

“The issue that would annoy me the most is a [probable] reconciliation between the prosecution’s woman and the police officer; each of them represents an authority; this per se would open the door for concessions,” Raghda Al Saeed, a practitioner from National American Institute for Leadership and Charisma wrote on Twitter.

UN’s response

The incident has been disturbing that the United Nations released a statement affirming “full commitment” to the Egyptian laws and respect for all Egyptian state agencies and all employees performing their duties.

The UN said the statement refers to the recent published video for a “lady who claimed her affiliation to the United Nations while assaulting a police officer during his duty,” but did not confirm whether the lady is part of the UN team in Egypt.

“The United Nations in Egypt also rejects any violation conducted under its name and stresses that under the Charter of the United Nations, there are no privileges or immunities that exempt its employees from observing the laws and police regulations in the host country.”

“The United Nations also reminds every one of the need to follow the current precautionary measures that help in limiting the spread of Coronavirus according to the instructions of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, including wearing masks in public places to preserve public health.”

The woman forcefully resisting while the officer and two conscripts were trying to handcuff her - screenshot

Update: Public Prosecution's probe

The Public Prosecution affirmed that it has released on bail the woman prosecutor, after knowing from her workplace that she is suffering from “psychological conditions,” a statement by the prosecution read.

The statement noted that the investigations are still ongoing.

The prosecution said it interrogated the officer, who confirmed that he intervened when he saw the prosecutor using her phone to film employees while performing their duty. He said he notified her that this act is not allowed and that it is a punishable crime, adding that she assaulted him so he had to arrest her.

The prosecution also said it told the prosecutor about the allegations she faces, including assaulting a police officer while performing his duties and insulting him, but she denied the allegations. She added that she had to defend herself in the way appearing in the video after the officer started a jangle with her, snatched her phone and arrested her.