Egypt's prosecutor-general Hamada al-Sawy. Al-Ahram
Egypt's Prosecutor-General Hamada El-Sawy ordered on Sunday the detention of a doctor and an employee at a private hospital for four days pending investigation into charges of bullying and blasphemy.
The incident, according to local reports, took place at the El-Nozha International Hospital in Cairo.
The two men are facing charges of misusing their authority to mock a nurse at the hospital, exploiting religion to promote extremist ideas and sow discord, and disdaining a monotheistic religion.
They are also accused of undermining family values, posting a video clip on the internet that violates the privacy of the victim, and using a private account and website to commit these crimes.
The clip showed the doctor and the employee in a hospital room taunting and ridiculing the victim verbally and using gestures.
The defendants denied the accusations, claiming they were joking with the nurse and that he was used to these kinds of jokes.
What appears to be the doctor’s voice is heard in the video as he orders the nurse to say a prayer to the doctor’s dog as a form of apology, accusing the nurse of insulting the dog.
The prosecution’s decision comes after the four-minute video went viral on social media, triggering wide outrage.
The doctor, in remarks to the media last week, claimed that foreign hackers accessed his phone and used the posted video to blackmail him.
He also claimed that a part of the video was fabricated.
Health Minister Hala Zayed ordered a committee be formed on Friday to analyse the video.
Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the doctor was suspended from work, and the clinic, where the incident took place, was temporarily closed until the investigation is completed.
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