Journalist Makes Shocking, Graphic Claim of Sexual Assault Against Egyptian Police

A U.S.-based Egyptian journalist has made a shocking claim that could further undermine claims that the Egyptian revolution is the ultimate example of a peaceful and democratic revolution. Mona Eltahawy -- who has appeared on channels such as CNN, has written for the Washington Post, and isa former Mid East correspondent for Reuters -- took to Twitter to describe a graphic account of being captured, detained, and sexually assaulted within the last 24 hours.

According to her Twitter account, she was surrounded by Egyptian police who then grabbed her breasts and her genital area:

HuffPo sums up her ordeal:

She reported that she had been been detained for 12 hours by the interior ministry and military intelligence, during which time she was sexually assaulted by five or six men. "5 or 6 surrounded me, groped and prodded my breasts, grabbed my genital area and I lost count how many hands tried to get into my trousers," she tweeted.

She spent hours blindfolded before finally being released with an apology from military intelligence but no explanation for why she was detained.

In addition, she said that both her arms had been broken as a result of the incident, and tweeted a picture of them in casts:

A U.S. embassy representative in Cairo told the Guardian in London that the reports of the incident were "very concerning" and that "US embassy consulate officers are engaging Egyptian authorities."

Eltahawy's ordeal brings back memories of another graphic, and violent, sexual assault on a journalist undertaken by an Egyptian mob earlier this year. Then, the victim was CBS correspondent Lara Logan. She was singled out, her clothes ripped off, and described being "raped" by her attackers' hands.