Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly reportedly declared that there was no child abuse at the Dar Ishraqa orphanage, following the exposure of pictures of tortured children on social media in mid-March.
Waly’s statements came in response to a question by member of parliament (MP) Alaa Abed, head of the parliament’s Human Rights Committee, state-media reported on Tuesday.
She claimed that the Forensic Medicine Authority reports showed no signs of physical assault on the children, with the exception of one child with a burn mark that he got three years ago from a former supervisor at the orphanage, who had been “reported”.
The prosecution had detained the orphanage’s manager after photos published on social media alleged that at least a dozen children were reported to have been beaten, burnt, and sexually abused.
The Ministry of Solidarity dissolved the orphanage’s board council and replaced it with a new administration.
The orphanage is owned by the wife of the late former prime minister Atef Ebeid and is located in 6th of October City. Still, Waly said that after 2011, the orphanage has been neglected amid a lack of supervision by the owners, who were caught up in the events following the revolution.
Ebeid had been jailed, facing trials over corruption charges with the involvement of other Mubarak-era officials. He passed away in 2014, and Waly said that his widow then suffered health issues.
