OPINION:
I am disappointed but not surprised that an Egyptian military tribunal acquitted Ahmed Adel, an army doctor who was accused of performing a virginity test on a female protester while she was in detention (“Egypt acquits ’virginity test’ military doctor,” Web, Sunday).
This trial was disturbing in several respects. First, it shows Egypt’s low regard and contempt for women. The main culprits, high-level military officers who created the policy for such humiliating virginity tests, were not on trial. In fact, the court shamefully insisted that no such tests were ever conducted, even though Amnesty International said in June that Egypt’s generals acknowledged carrying out such tests on female protesters.
Second, this trial shows that even though the abusive and corrupt Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down from power in Egypt, things haven’t really changed, as people’s rights are still being trampled.
KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN
Huntington Beach, Calif.
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