Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy tweets her assault
Last night the award winning global journalist was detained and sexually assaulted after covering violence around Cairo's Tahrir Square. This morning she was released. Here is how the story unfolded on twitter.
- Wednesday was a pretty violent day throughout cities in Egypt especially at the heart of the current protests Tahrir Square as this Guardian footage captured.
- One journalist who was covering Cairo was the award winning columnist Mona Eltahawy. As the violence increased she tweeted that a relative of hers had been killed.
- She was then outside of then American University of Cairo - where she once graduated from - when tear gas engulfed the area
- Last night the Guardian reported allegations that more potent types of crowd control gas were being used on protesters
- It was not long after that Eltahawy was reported as missing. Somehow from prison she managed to tweet this.
- And then retweet this:
- The fact that different platforms had been used for these last series of tweets led some including Mona's sister to think her account may have been hacked.
Worried that someone has access to @monaeltahawy 's account. Her tweets have been coming from a variety of Twitter clients.- Others sent messages of concern and support. There were fears that other journalists had also been arrested and the hashtag #freemona soon began trending worldwide.
Devastated to hear that @monaeltahawy has been beaten and detained in Egypt. An incredible journalist and feminist. #freemona Plz Retweet!
RT @MEDIAinDUBAI: @ahmed have a good day offline, pls RT this before taking the break thanks #freeMONA #freemaged http://pic.twitter.com/RB5n3YTT- The US State Department also got involved.
Reports of @monaeltahawy and @pangeaworld detention very concerning. @USEmbassyCairo engaging authorities. #FreeMona- Then just as the Guardian published our first story about her disappearance, this appeared on Eltahawy's feed:
- In a series of tweets Eltahawy told her horrifying story:
