Egyptian Court Acquits Doctor of Violating Rights of Women

CAIRO — A military court on Sunday acquitted an army doctor who had been accused of performing forced “virginity tests” on women detained by soldiers when they broke up a street protest a year ago.

State media reported that the court acquitted the doctor, Ahmed Adel el Mogy, on the relatively narrow basis of contradictions in the testimony heard at the trial. It was unclear if the court reached any conclusions about the occurrence or legitimacy of the tests.

A civilian administrative court concluded in late December that the military had, in fact,wrongly forced several women to undergo the tests. But its authority did not extend to holding officers accountable, and human rights advocates said that Sunday’s verdict showed the flaws in military justice.

Samira Ibrahim, who filed both lawsuits, could not be reached for comment. In an online message, she wrote: “Nobody violated my honor, it’s Egypt whose honor was violated. And I will go on till the end to get her rights.”

State media reported that after the military court’s ruling, Ms. Ibrahim chanted for an end to military rule and then rushed out of the courtroom. Other reports indicated that she fainted.

She has become an icon of the nascent Egyptian women’s movement— allowed to organize independently only after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak last year — for pressing her case despite the stigma that has silenced most other women subjected to the tests.

Human rights advocates have expected for weeks that the military court would acquit the doctor. Lawyers have complained that they were prohibited from presenting evidence and witnesses, or attempting to file charges against the officers who may have ordered the tests.

In the year since the episode occurred, top military officials sometimes denied but on other occasions acknowledged that military officers ordered the tests. Although human rights advocates consider the forced tests a form of sexual assault, military officials have reportedly said the tests were conducted to preclude accusations that soldiers had violated the women in their custody.

The civilian administrative court found that protecting soldiers from any possibility that they could be accused of wrongdoing did not justify subjecting women to humiliating and invasive procedures. The court barred the military from applying such tests in the future. Doctors also say that the tests are not medical and cannot ascertain previous sexual activity.

After the civilian court’s ruling, the Egyptian military said the verdict was moot because such tests are not part of military policy. The a council of generals took power at Mr. Mubarak’s exit 13 months ago, and they have pledged a handover to civilian rule after presidential elections scheduled for June
.