17 Arrested After New Year's Mass Harassment Video Sparks Outrage

Egyptian police have arrested 17 men while they are investigating a video that has sparked outrage across the internet shortly after the new year began. The video depicts a large group of men sexually harassing and assaulting women in the streets of Mansoura. The video also shows one of the women attempting to take refuge in a nearby mobile phone shop while the men continue to pursue her before a quarrel breaks out between the men and the workers at the store.

Shopkeepers in the area have been questioned by the police in relation to the incident. According to Al Masr Al Youm, witnesses claim that some of the shop keepers in question were trying to protect the girl from the mob until she was accompanied into a car and was able to leave.

The video caused a large furor online on Egyptian social media, particularly from commentators who shared the sentiment that the assault represented an attack on society and the shock of such an incident occurring in Mansoura, which is said to have a reputation as a quiet and peaceful area.