The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) called on the Public Prosecution to appeal the acquittal of the man accused of harassing Mariam Shawky, in the case widely known as the “girl on the bus.”
On Tuesday, the Mokattam Misdemeanors Court acquitted a worker of verbally harassing Shawky on public transportation on the Maadi Ring Road in February. The incident was captured in a video in which Shawky called on bus passengers for help after accusing a young man of harassing her. He later denied the accusation, before prosecutors released him on bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($19), pending investigation.
ECRF said its lawyers and Shawky’s legal team would file a request with the Prosecutor General to appeal the ruling after reviewing the court’s reasoning.
EIPR said it had joined Mariam Shawky’s legal team from the start of the investigation in case No. 2014 of 2026, in which prosecutors charged the defendant with accosting a woman in a public place, an offense punishable under Article 306 bis (A) of the Penal Code.
Article 306 bis (A) criminalizes accosting another with sexual suggestions or innuendo, whether verbal, physical, or by gesture, and carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. EIPR said prosecutors’ investigations confirmed that the alleged offender had used sexually offensive language toward Shawky.
EIPR said the acquittal amounted to “undermining women and girls’ rights to physically and psychologically safe spaces in public,” stressing that it came amid a worrying rise in coordinated social media campaigns that justify harassment and blame survivors.
The group added that it had warned in an earlier statement, signed by 11 civil society organizations, that such trends violate women’s rights and hinder ongoing national efforts to combat gender-based violence. It said appealing the ruling was a necessary step to uphold the rule of law and protect victims.
Shawky posted a short video after the ruling saying the acquittal was not final and stressing that she would take legal action against anyone who attacked her on social media.
She said in another video, “It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to call the victim a liar, and absolutely unacceptable for anyone to say my account is false, because I am one million percent truthful. I do not need to falsely accuse anyone, or defame anyone at the expense of my own reputation, or risk my life or lose my job because someone decided at some point to violate my personal life.”
She added, “Please, let us stand with what is right to the end, be honest with ourselves, and tell the truth. I shared the truth, and I was brave and very honest with myself about what happened. So I will not allow anyone to call me a liar, attack me, or spread things against me on social media.”
Osama, the man acquitted, said he had been confident of his innocence because he trusted the Egyptian judiciary. In press remarks after the ruling, he said he had been afraid and anxious before the verdict despite his confidence in his innocence because of pressure from public opinion and “people judging him before waiting for the court’s ruling.”
Earlier coverage of the incident had drawn criticism after some news websites published headlines casting doubt on Shawky’s mental health, then changed them after a backlash. That prompted 11 feminist institutions and initiatives to criticize what they described as “parallel media trials” of harassment survivors.
The groups said some coverage of the incident, which topped online trends on Feb. 8, went beyond breaching professional standards and helped “provide cover for violence” by focusing on the victim’s mental state and personal details unrelated to the alleged crime, turning the abuse into fodder for doubt and defamation.
