Egyptians, The Olympics & The News, we just can’t keep ourselves out of them (and not in the good way)
Egyptian sports ministry representative Ibrahim Ahmed Khalil has been fined for groping a 21-year-old woman’s breasts at the Paralympic Games in London.
According to a report in Britain’s Daily Mail on Wednesday, Khalil, the 56-year old member of the Egyptian Paralympics delegation, was arrested hours before the event’s closing ceremony.
“The Egyptian embassy tried to claim diplomatic immunity, but the attempt failed and Khalil wept yesterday as he was fined by magistrates,” said the report.
Khalil was arrested in the hotel and spent two days in custody before appearing in City of London Magistrates’ Court.
“He told police he poked the girl’s breast to tell her where she should put the badge (of Egypt’s flag). He said he didn’t really understand what he had done wrong, but wanted to apologise because she was upset with him,” said Regina Naughton, prosecutor at the court.
“The court accepted his apology ‘on the basis that it is a one-off error of judgment’ and ordered him to pay a £160 fine, £100 costs, £100 compensation to the woman, and a £15 victim surcharge. Embassy officials will pay on his behalf,” Magistrate Sarah Graham said.
The Egyptian sports ministry has yet to comment on the issue.
We Said This: It’s a shame ending the paralympics with such a scandal from Egypt since Egypt’s Paralympians had an outstanding performance at the Games in London winning 15 medals (four gold, four silver and seven bronze) as Egypt finished 28 out of 74 countries in the medal table.