CAIRO: The American wife of the man claiming he was assaulted inside the US embassy earlier this month has told the public prosecution that she does not want to stay in Egypt any longer.
Appearing in front of the central Cairo prosecution office on Thursday for questioning, and accompanied by a representative from the US embassy, she said that her husband had refused to return to the US, and she had then taken their two children and headed to the embassy.
Her husband, Ahmed Al-Takrouri, claimed that he was assaulted inside the US embassy on August 5 by an army marine and two others as he went to inquire about the whereabouts of his wife and two children.
Al-Takrouri alleged in the complaint he filed in at Qasr Al-Nil police station that day, that he and his mother were assaulted by three men inside the US embassy. According to Al-Takrouri, one of them was dressed in military fatigues and the other two were in plain clothes but armed with pistols and electric batons.
Representatives from the US Embassy in Cairo gave their statements at the central Cairo prosecution office last week regarding the incident but did not give the press their version of events.
The three women from the US embassy gave their statements last Tuesday at the prosecutor’s office, which is located in the South Cairo Court, after meeting with the District Attorney for half an hour.
Al-Shorouk newspaper reported Saturday that when asked where she is currently staying, Al-Takrouri’s wife responded that she was currently staying inside the US embassy.
A statement released by the Foreign Ministry August 13 said, “The Foreign Ministry summoned the American Embassy Charge d Affaires for further information regarding the circumstances of this incident. The American diplomat said that Mr. Al-Takrouri persisted – as he said – on threatening the consular department at the embassy through phone calls, as he believes that the department assisted his American wife and his children to travel out of Egypt without his approval.
“The American diplomat denied that any embassy member could have assaulted Mr. Al-Takrouri or his mother. He outlined that internal surveillance cameras have recorded the incident and affirmed that the embassy security guards only prevented Mr. Al-Takrouri from continuing his assault on others as a result of the anger seizure which befell him, the statement continued.
Al-Takrouri has resided in the US since 2000, which is when he met and married his American wife, who then converted to Islam. The couple had two children and went back and forth between Egypt and the US. Troubles had cropped up recently between them over whether they would return to the US.
US embassy spokesperson Margaret White previously said in a statement sent to Daily News Egypt, “We are aware of the incident involving Mr. Takrouri that took place at the Embassy on August 5. The matter was referred immediately to Egyptian authorities by embassy security personnel who took appropriate action in response to threatening behavior.
“We are unable to comment further as the matter is being investigated but we are confident that the results of an investigation will reveal that the allegations appearing in the press are exaggerated and misrepresent the true facts in this case.
