(LONDON) — Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are heading back to Europe in September.
The couple, who support several charities, will attend the One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit in the United Kingdom on Sept. 5, the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 One Year to Go on Sept. 6 in Germany and the WellChild Awards on Sept. 8 in the U.K., according a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In an Instagram post, One Young World announced that Meghan will be delivering a keynote address at the summit’s opening ceremony. The organization also shared that Meghan and Harry will be meeting with a group of summit delegates “doing outstanding work on gender equality.”
The organization holds a special place in the duchess’ heart. She served as a counsellor for its summit in Dublin in 2014 and also during its summit in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2016. One Young World noted how the Duchess of Sussex has continued to support One Young World ambasssadors, particularly those working for equal rights for women and girls.
“When I was asked to be a Counsellor at One Young World my response was a resounding yes!” Meghan said in a statement shared by the group. “One Young World invites young adults from all over the world who are actively working to transform the socio-political landscape by being the greater good.”
The Invictus Games Düsseldorf and WellChild also shared their excitement on social media about the duke and duchess attending their events. More information will be announced in the coming weeks, the organizations each said.
The One Young World Summit will be Harry and Meghan’s third time back in the U.K. this year, since they stepped down as senior working royals in 2020.
In April, they retuned to the U.K. together and made a private visit to Queen Elizabeth on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. The couple then came back to the U.K. in June for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Prince Harry and Meghan currently live in California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
(OSLO, Norway) — A 1,300-pound walrus that became a popular attraction in Norway in recent weeks was euthanized on Sunday, after officials concluded the marine mammal posed a risk to humans.
Increasingly large crowds of people came to the Oslo Fjord to see the female walrus, named Freya, who climbed onto small boats to sunbathe. After warning the public to stay away, the Norwegian government made the decision to have Freya put down early Sunday.
“Through on-site observations the past week it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus,” Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement. “Therefore, the Directorate has concluded, the possibility for potential harm to people was high and animal welfare was not being maintained.”
The head of the directorate, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said several possible solutions, including moving Freya, were considered but were ultimately deemed not viable.
“There were several animal welfare concerns associated with a possible relocation,” Bakke-Jensen said in a statement Sunday. “We have sympathies for the fact that the decision can cause reactions with the public, but I am firm that this was the right call. We have great regard for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence.”
When Freya arrived in the Oslo Fjord last month, the directorate said officials were closely monitoring the walrus and were preparing to relocate her if possible. They said they hoped she would leave of her own accord.
“Neither the Directorate of Fisheries nor researchers we are in contact with recommend culling. It is therefore currently not applicable, and other options are being considered,” the directorate said in a statement on July 20.
At that time, Freya was “doing well, taking food, resting” and appeared “to be in good condition,” according to the directorate.
“The conditions around her are calm, with few cases of close human encounters,” the directorate said in another statement on July 25. “Walruses do not normally pose a danger to humans as long as you keep your distance. However, when it is disturbed by humans and does not get the rest it needs, it may feel threatened and attack. Nearby people can provoke dangerous situations.”
Walruses are a protected species in Norway. They’re native to the Arctic Circle. It’s unusual — though not unheard of — for them to travel farther south. Last year, a walrus named Wally was spotted on Valentia Island in Ireland.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Iranian government on Monday denied that its officials were responsible for the attack on Salman Rushdie, saying the government hadn’t previously heard of the man who allegedly stabbed the author on Friday.
“No one has the right to accuse Iran,” Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in his weekly press conference on Monday, adding that Iran was not previously aware of the alleged attacker.
“We know nothing about this person more than what we heard from the American media,” Kanaani said.
Rushdie, an Indian-British citizen, was stabbed last week during a lecture event in New York. Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, 24, who was charged with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree.
In 1989, Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued an apostasy fatwa over the author’s novel “The Satanic Verses.” The book was partly inspired by the life of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Iranian leaders and others accused Rushdie of blasphemy.
“Salman Rushdie exposed himself to the public anger by insulting Islamic sacred topics and crossing red lines of both over 1.5 billion Muslims and red lines of followers of all divine religions,” Kanaani said on Monday. “All of them were offended by someone insulting a divine prophet.”
“In attacking [Rushdie], no one deserves condemnation except of [Rushdie] himself and his supporters,” Kanaani said.
The Iranian foreign minister in 1998 said that the country had dropped Rushdie’s death threat, but the current supreme leader of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the country’s political decision-making and issuing of religious decrees, confirmed multiple times, including in 2017, that the fatwa was still valid.
Rushdie was taken off a ventilator and was on the “road to recovery,” his literary agent, Andrew Wiley, said on Sunday.
Prior to Iran’s official reaction, local media appeared to express some contentment that Rushdie had been stabbed. Iran Daily, which often reflects the government’s perspective, ran a story under the headline: “Satan’s neck under the blade.”
Another newspaper, Keyhan, whose managing editor was appointed by Iran’s leader, congratulated the man who allegedly stabbed Rushdie, calling him “courageous.” It called for “a kiss on his hand who tore the neck of God’s enemy with a knife.”
Another newspaper printed a front-page story with the headline “Satan on the Path to Inferno,” which ran with a picture of Rushdie on a stretcher being wheeled away.
Public opinion on the stabbing may differ from the official perspective, according to one source who spoke with ABC News on Monday.
“This is a clear attack not just on a great writer but to the freedom of speech. Such acts must stop,” said Sarah, an Iranian student in sociology, who asked that her last name be withheld for her safety. “I am so happy that Rushdie survived and is on the path to recovery and the extremists failed doing what they wanted.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 15, 5:53 AM EDT
Griner to appeal Russian conviction, lawyer says
Brittney Griner’s defense team filed an appeal for the verdict by Khimky City Court, according to Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners law firm.
The WNBA star was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court this month.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Aug 14, 4:44 PM EDT
1st UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat set to depart for Africa
The first UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat is set to head for Africa from the near the port city Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
The MV Brave Commander is loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat that will be shipped to Ethiopia as part of a mission to relieve a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has halted grain exports for months, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov announced at a news conference.
Kubrakov said the UN-chartered ship is scheduled to leave the Pivdenny port near Odesa on Monday.
“When three months ago, during the meeting of the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kyiv the first negotiations on unlocking Ukrainian maritime ports began, we have already seen how critical it is becoming a food situation in the world.” Kubrakov wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “This especially applies to the least socially protected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, for whom Ukraine has always been a key importer of agro-production.”
He said Ethiopia is in desperate need of Ukrainian grain.
“This country has been suffering from record drought and armed confrontation for the second year in a row,” Kubrakov said. “Ukrainian grain for them without exaggeration — the matter of life and death.”
He said he hopes the MV Brave Commander will be the first many more grain shipments under the U.N. World Food Program.
Aug 12, 2:28 PM EDT
‘They treat us like captives’: Exiled Zaporizhzhia manager on conditions at plant
An exiled manager at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant told ABC News that the Ukrainian staff is treated “like captives.”
Oleg, who asked to be referred by a pseudonym, said he felt threatened by the Russian soldiers.
“They didn’t say, ‘I’m going to shoot you now,’ but they always carry guns and assault rifles with them,” said Oleg, who managed one of 80 units at the plant but was able to leave last month. “And when an assault rifle or a gun has a cocked trigger, I consider it as a threat.”
Amid reported shelling in the vicinity of the plant, Oleg said he was primarily concerned about its spent fuel containers, “which are in a precarious position, and they are not shielded well.”
Aug 11, 4:43 PM EDT
UN secretary-general calls for all military activities around nuclear power plant to ‘cease immediately’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “calling for all military activities” around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine “to cease immediately,” and for armies not “to target its facilities or surroundings.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator Energoatom said Russian forces shelled the plant for a third time on Thursday, hitting close to the first power unit. Earlier on Thursday, Energoatom said five rockets struck the area around the commandant’s office, close to where the radioactive material is stored.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed interim governor of Zaporizhzhya Oblast, issued a statement claiming Ukrainian forces struck the plant, hitting close to an area with radioactive material.
Guterres said he’s appealed to all parties to “exercise common sense” and take any actions that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
“Instead of de-escalation, over the past several days there have been reports of further deeply worrying incidents that could, if they continue, lead to disaster,” he said, adding that he’s “gravely concerned.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, pleaded with the U.N. Security Council Thursday to allow for an IAEA mission to visit the plant as soon as possible. He said the situation at the plant is deteriorating rapidly and is “becoming very alarming.”
(NEW YORK) — Eight people, including at least five Americans, were wounded when a gunman opened fire on a bus in Jerusalem early Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Among those injured in the attack was a pregnant woman, who was forced to deliver her baby in an emergency room, officials said.
“Last night, a terrorist shot at a bus in Jerusalem wounding eight people, including a pregnant 30-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man who are in critical care,” the ministry said on Twitter. “We pray for their full recovery. This attack on Israel’s capital, a city sacred to all three religions, must be condemned.”
At least five U.S. citizens were injured in the attack, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The attack occurred early Sunday near the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, authorities said. The shooting happened as the bus was waiting for passengers in a parking lot near the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism where Jews from around the world make pilgrimages to pray.
The bus driver, Daniel Kanyevski, told local news media outlets that he was parked near the Tomb of King David waiting for worshippers to return from praying at the Western Wall when the gunfire erupted.
“We opened the ramp for someone on a wheelchair, and then the shooting started,” Kanyevski told news reporters. “Everyone got down on the floor, screaming. I tried to escape, but the bus couldn’t drive with the ramp open.”
Israeli police launched a search for the suspected shooter, who later surrendered to authorities, officials said.
A New York Police Department overseas liaison identified the suspected gunman as Amir Sidawi, a 22-year-old Palestinian who lives in East Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement condemning the attack.
“Jerusalem is our capital city and a tourist center for all religions,” Lapid said in his statement, adding that Israeli security forces would “restore calm.”
The U.S. State Department also issued a statement Sunday denouncing the attack.
“The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack outside the Old City of Jerusalem that wounded at least eight victims, including at least five U.S. citizens. We wish all the victims a speedy recovery. We remain in close contact with our Israeli partners and stand firmly with them in the face of this attack,” the U.S. State Department said, adding that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.”
While a motive for the attack was not immediately clear, it came during a tense week between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Last weekend, Israeli aircraft launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip targeting the militant group Islamic Jihad and setting off three days of fierce cross-border fighting. Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets during the flare-up to avenge the airstrikes, which killed two of its commanders and other militants.
Israel said the attack was meant to thwart threats from the group to respond to the arrest of one of its officials in the occupied West Bank.
Two of the victims from Sunday morning’s attack are listed in serious condition at Shaarei Tsedek Hospital in Jerusalem, a hospital spokesperson told ABC News.
The hospital spokesperson said an American citizen in his 50s or 60s suffered gunshot wounds to his neck and upper back and was among those in serious condition. Two other Americans were treated at the hospital for mild to moderate injuries and released, the spokesperson said.
The pregnant woman wounded in the attack was undergoing surgery and is expected to survive, but is facing a long recovery process, the hospital spokesperson said. Her baby was delivered alive and doctors were doing their best to save the newborn, the spokesperson said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a statement on Twitter, saying some of the Americans injured in the attack were from New York state.
“I’m horrified by the terror attack in Jerusalem, and by the news that a family of New Yorkers has been impacted,” Hochul tweeted, adding that her staff has been in contact with the U.S. State Department and offered to assist those injured.
“We condemn terror and stand with the Israeli people as they seek peace,” Hochul said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spoke about the shooting during an unrelated news conference Sunday. He said three of the people injured are from the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, including a man he identified as Shia Hersh Glick. Schumer said friends of Glick told him he was trying to protect his family when he was shot.
“He was very brave,” Schumer said. “He bent down over his family to protect them. He was shot in the neck and they had him on a respirator, but it looks like his condition is improving. His son was shot in the arm as he protected his son.”
Schumer added, “We’re all hoping and praying for the families that were shot in Israel. It hits so close to home because at least three of those eight on the bus were American, and Brooklynites.”
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Christine Theodorou and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(CULLERA, Spain) — At least one person was killed and more than 20 others were injured when strong gusts of wind caused parts of a stage to fall at a music festival in Spain, officials said.
Three of the injured were in serious condition on Saturday, an official with the Valencia government said.
An “unexpected and violent gale” moved through the grounds of the Medusa Festival in Cullera, Spain, at about 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, the organizers said in a statement.
As the weather worsened, the organizers ordered the area around the stage to be evacuated, they said, adding, “Unfortunately, the devastating meteorological phenomenon caused some structures to cause unexpected events.”
Strong winds caused chaos and damage to multiple structures at the Medusa Music Festival in Spain. “Violent” wind gusts devastated parts of the area, forcing the event’s management team to vacate the area. https://t.co/pyGGpQuWm0pic.twitter.com/KzItPkSjHf
Videos taken at the scene showed pieces of a stage breaking off in strong gusts of wind.
Local media reported that a 28-year-old man had been killed.
“The Medusa Festival management would like to express our deep and sincere condolences to the family and friends affected by the fatal consequences that occurred last night,” the organizers said in a statement.
The electronic music festival began on Friday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — The three Russian soldiers arrived at Victoria’s house claiming they needed to seize her cell phone. But they weren’t looking for phones.
Victoria, a 42-year-old Ukrainian woman, told ABC News she and another woman, a neighbor, were raped by two of the Russian soldiers occupying her village near Kyiv in March.
ABC News spoke to the two women who agreed to talk about what they say happened to them, on condition that their location and last names not be revealed.
Another soldier, a commanding officer who was not involved in the assault, threatened Victoria, she says.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You see, our boys have had a drink and want to have fun,'” Victoria recounts. “I understood that something terrible would happen.”
Two of the soldiers took the women to a house converted into headquarters for the Russian occupiers and raped them, they say.
That neighbor, 44-year-old Natalya, recounted the events to ABC News.
“He says, ‘do you want everything to be fine with your son? So get upstairs and do as I tell you,'” Natalya recalled, describing her encounter with one of the Russian soldiers she says raped her. “He was like an animal…And that rifle was hanging around and swinging.”
Natalya says she later learned the soldiers killed her husband after she was taken away. Its unclear how many soldiers or which ones were involved in the killing. The family buried her husband the next day.
The two Russian soldiers the women say raped them have not yet been identified but face international arrest warrants, according to Kateryna Duchenko, the Ukrainian prosecutor in charge of sexual violence cases committed by Russian soldiers. Both cases are being investigated with slim chances of the suspects being taken under custody or doing any prison time, she said.
Stories of rape and other atrocities at the hands of Russian troops are not unheard of in small towns and suburbs of Kyiv. Residents of Bucha and Borodyanka have reported human rights violations including rape, murder and torture by Russian forces during the invasion.
Russian authorities have not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment on the cases.
“The last case [we identified] was in occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region, where allegedly 10 Russian soldiers raped a woman,” Duchenko said.
Communication with residents inside Russian-occupied territories is extremely difficult, making the investigation and prosecution of these cases nearly impossible, Duchenko said.
“We know she is alive and that she had medical treatment and those details are all we’ve got,” Duchenko said on the limited information in the case in Zaporizhzhia.
The United Nations reported in June it had collected 124 reports of alleged acts of conflict-related sexual violence but qualified that number as “the tip of the iceberg” and added that it did “not reflect the scale of sexual violence in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Victoria and Natalya say they are now undergoing counseling with a psychologist about their trauma.
“I wanted to take off my skin and throw it away,” Victoria says. “The person I was before the war is no longer there. I became more aggressive. I began to fight more for my own.”
Natalya says she is still coming to terms with the assault.
“Many people have asked me, why aren’t you crying, why haven’t you gone crazy?” she said.
In June, Ukrainian authorities said they opened the first trial on sexual violence committed by a Russian soldier, according to the Kyiv Post. The suspect will be tried in absentia.
Duchenko’s office says it is working on prosecuting two other cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in addition to the case opened in June. The suspects will also be tried in absentia, since they are not in Ukrainian custody.
(NEW YORK) — The Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against an Iranian national and member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who prosecutors say tried to arrange the murder of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser.
The criminal complaint was filed against 45-year-old Shahram Poursafi. Prosecutors allege that Poursafi tried to arrange the murder of Bolton in “likely” retaliation for the murder of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed on Jan. 3, 2020, during the Trump administration.
Poursafi remains at large abroad.
In a statement after the charges were unsealed, Bolton called Iranian rulers “liars, terrorists and enemies of the United States.”
“Their radical, anti-American objectives are unchanged; their commitments are worthless; and their global threat is growing,” Bolton said, in part.
Nasser Kanani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, called the charges “baseless” and said the United States continues to claim “endless” and false accusations against Iran.
“In a new story-telling, the American judicial authorities have raised accusations without providing valid documents and necessary documents,” said Kanani, in a statement translated from Persian.
ABC News’ “Start Here” spoke to Marine Col. Stephen Ganyard, a former State Department official and now ABC News contributor, on the alleged plot to kill one of the United States’ most high-profile officials.
START HERE: John Bolton was a United Nations ambassador for George W. Bush [and] he was the national security adviser under Donald Trump…but he’s not in office now. Why would someone want to kill John Bolton?
GANYARD: Revenge Brad. It was payback. Remember that John Bolton was probably the hawk [and] probably pushed President Trump to take out Soleimani when the U.S. had the chance.
When they assassinated Soleimani back in 2020, understanding who Soleimani was within the Iranian society, understanding he was nearly a demigod.
There was nobody more powerful in Iran other than the supreme leader. So here is a hugely powerful man that was seen as a hero in the eyes of the Iranian people who needed a hero.
Who had brought together a serious military strategy in the Middle East, that pulled together Iran and Syria and Hezbollah and all of the efforts the Iranians had in the Middle East.
He unified the Iranian people. He unified the Iranian military in a way that no other commander had done and no other non-secular commander had ever done.
START HERE:What was the plan [to kill Bolton]? Do we know about who [the suspect] is and what he was doing?
GANYARD: We have a name, [but] we don’t know much more than that.
Clearly some kind of plot like this would have to be approved at the highest levels in Tehran, but we don’t know what this person’s position is. We don’t know whether they were part of the intelligence services, whether they’re part of the Quds Force.
We just know that the Department of Justice developed enough evidence, whether that was voice transcripts, whether it was text, whether it was emails, but they developed enough to get an indictment of this guy who isn’t even in the United States.
So very, very fuzzy, but he is likely within the hierarchy of the Iranian intelligence services and the Iranian government.
START HERE:Suppose these allegations are true. What would’ve happened if this was successful? What was Iran planning on happening in the fallout of a major attack?
GANYARD: It would’ve put the Biden administration in a very tough place.
Remember, the time that this would’ve gone down, the Biden administration was negotiating, trying to revive the nuclear deal that the Obama administration had put in place, that the Trump administration had discarded.
So if something like this would happen, that whole effort by the Biden administration, which he had talked about as candidate Biden, would’ve gone by the wayside. There was no way that he could agree to something with the Iranians.
Even worse, there may have been a requirement for retaliation, for the United States to do something militarily, to pay back the Iranians for assassinating a senior United States government official.
START HERE:So we could have found ourselves at war, is what you’re saying, if this was successful?
GANYARD:We could have, depending on how egregious it was and how the Biden administration reacted, there could have been some sort of a military retaliation.
And in that part of the world, it’s really hard to know whether you are lighting a fire or you’re putting one out.
START HERE:Well, from the U.S. perspective, the DOJ did not have to release this information [but] they chose to… What is about to happen for the U.S. and Iran going forward?
GANYARD: So this seems like it’s a warning. Here’s why: We know that the Iranians offered this U.S. person $300,000 to kill Bolton. But they said, “Once you do that, we got a million dollars for somebody else that we’re already surveilling.”
GANYARD: So this is something where the Department of Justice and the FBI said, “We know that we are not gonna get this guy that we’re gonna indict, but we have to fire a warning shot across their bow. We have to make it clear. We know what’s going on here and you better not do it again, or even try to do it again because there will be consequences.”
(CAIRO, Egypt) — The latest murder of a young woman in Egypt who had allegedly rejected the advances of a fellow student has sparked outrage and renewed calls for Egyptian lawmakers to take action.
Islam Mohamed, a 22-year-old student at Al-Shorouk Academy in the Greater Cairo area, was detained early Wednesday on suspicion of killing his 20-year-old classmate, Salma Bahgat. He is accused of “repeatedly stabbing her with a knife” on Tuesday as she was leaving a building in Zagazig, northeast of Cairo, according to a statement from Egyptian prosecutors.
Prosecutors, citing accounts from witnesses and relatives, said Bahgat had had twice declined marriage proposals from Mohamed, who in turn made death threats against her. Bahgat’s parents told authorities that Mohamed’s proposals were rejected because of his “misbehavior and drug abuse,” according to prosecutors.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Al-Shorouk Academy mourned the death of Bahgat, who was studying media, saying: “She was an example of a diligent and distinguished student, on the moral and scientific levels, throughout her four years at the academy.”
Bahgat’s killing marked the second such campus femicide to occur in Egypt within the past two months, prompting outcry on social media.
“Another woman killed for saying ‘No,'” one Twitter user wrote.
“I cant believe in this amount of time another incident like Nayera happened again,” another user said.
In June, 21-year-old Nayera Ashraf was stabbed to death in front of her university in Mansoura, north of Cairo, by a fellow student whose marriage proposal she had turned down. The gruesome incident, which was videotaped by bystanders, sent shockwaves across the North African nation.
Ashraf’s killer, 21-year-old Mohamed Adel, gained sympathy during his trial from some commentators on social media who called the murder a “crime of passion,” because they said he was left heartbroken.
“Misogyny is deep-rooted in Egyptian culture. A kid is raised watching his father beat his mother, for instance,” Said Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo, told ABC News on Thursday.
“The media that frown upon any actress who wears revealing dresses and religious scholars who demand that women cover up from head to toe are also to blame for fueling such sentiments,” he added. “We turn the victim into a criminal and the harassers into heroes.”
Adel was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death last month. The court also took the unusual step of calling for changes to Egyptian law to allow executions to be broadcast live as a deterrent to others. Capital punishment in Egypt is rarely broadcast or carried out in public.
In Egypt, murder is punishable by death. More people were sentenced to death there last year than in any other country. In terms of the number of executions carried out, Egypt had the third highest, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
Nevertheless, critics argue that Egyptian law must be strengthened against gender-based violence, threats or blackmailing, which have been on the rise in recent years.
Sadek cited one example of a man who spent just a few weeks in prison after sexually harassing and beating up a woman in a Cairo shopping mall in 2015. Two years later, he attacked her with a knife, leaving a deep cut in her face, Sadek said.
According to a 2015 survey conducted by the United Nations Population Fund and the Egyptian government, about 7.8 million women in Egypt suffer from all forms of violence every year, “whether perpetrated by a spouse/fiancé or individuals in her close circles or from strangers in public places.”
Sexual violence is also rampant, with over 99.3% of Egyptian girls and women experiencing some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime, according to a U.N. report released in 2013.
Last year, the Parliament of Egypt approved tougher penalties for sexual harassment, making the crime punishable by a minimum of five years in prison. But women rights groups insist more should be done, calling on Egyptian Parliament to fast-track a draft unified law for combating violence against women. The proposed legislation has been in the works for several months.
In the wake of Bahgat’s killing, almost two dozen groups, including the Giza-based Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, issued a statement Wednesday calling on Egyptian authorities “to take all the measures to protect women and girls, who have the right to live safely in their homeland.”
“Violence has become a culture nurtured by a societal complicity that justifies it, condemns the victim and sympathizes with the perpetrator,” they said. “We encourage women and girls to urgently report any threats they receive to authorities.”
(GUENZBURG, Germany) — Dozens of people were injured on a ride at an amusement park in Germany on Thursday, police said.
The incident occurred at a Legoland park in Günzburg in Bavaria.
At least 31 people were injured in the accident, including one severely, a local police spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. It is unclear how many people have been hospitalized.
Several helicopters responded to the scene.
All passengers have been removed from the ride, which will remain closed, police said.
Investigators will be on the scene Friday, police said.
ABC News did not immediately receive a response from the amusement park when seeking comment.
Last week, a person died in a roller coaster accident at another German amusement park, Klotti Park, after falling off the ride, officials said. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
