In a new legal move that could overturn the acquittal of a hotel manager accused of sex-based discrimination, the East Port Said Prosecution has appealed the ruling, seeking to suspend its enforcement and retry the manager after he refused to let journalist Alaa Saad stay at the hotel on her own without a companion, the New Woman Foundation said on Tuesday.
The appeal tests how Egyptian courts handle gender-based discrimination claims, after a lower court ruled that the hotel’s refusal to accommodate a woman alone was merely an “internal regulation” rather than a criminal offense. The Public Prosecution has set April 27 for the appeal hearing before the misdemeanor appellate court, according to a statement by the foundation.
The foundation, which legally represents the victim, said its defense team was ready to attend the appeal hearing.
The foundation also welcomed contact from the National Council for Women to ask about developments in the appeal request, and thanked Prosecutor General Mohamed Shawky for responding to it. It said the judicial move was “a positive step supporting urgent action to enable the victim to exercise her fundamental right to access justice and to correct the legal flaw that marred the acquittal issued on March 10.”
The Court of First Instance had based its acquittal on the absence of criminal intent, saying the hotel’s policy of refusing to accommodate women on their own was an “internal regulation.” The foundation rejected such reasoning, saying it entrenched discrimination and nullified Article 161 bis of the Penal Code, which criminalizes discrimination on the basis of sex and origin when it results in the denial of equal opportunity.
New Woman said the case had again thrown a harsh spotlight on what it called the current legislative and institutional vacuum, and urged swift implementation of the constitutional requirement under Article 53 to establish an “independent anti-discrimination commission.”
The foundation said the reasoning behind the acquittal showed that the absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law “provides cover for violations committed under the guise of internal rules or private regulations,” and stressed the need for immediate legislative action to prevent a repeat of practices that undermine women’s dignity and rights.
The Public Prosecution had referred the defendant to trial as the manager responsible for Al Safwa Utopia Hotel in Port Said after he refused to accommodate the victim on her own, describing his conduct as “an act that would create discrimination among individuals on the basis of sex and result in the erosion of the principle of equal opportunity and social justice.”
Prosecutors also called for the application of Article 161 bis of the Penal Code, which stipulates prison and a fine of no less than 30,000 Egyptian pounds ($556) and no more than 50,000 pounds ($926) for anyone who commits or refrains from an act that leads to discrimination among individuals on the basis of sex.
