The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Egyptian artist Shadi Khalaf to three years in prison today, Tuesday, for the offense of sexually assaulting seven girls and attempting to rape them. The court accused the artist of harassment and sexual assault in an acting studio in Cairo and Nuweiba between 2016 and 2021. Investigations revealed that the victims were training at his studio, where they met him while participating in acting workshops at different times, except for the first complainant who met him during her work at a location where he was staying and confirmed that he harassed her and attempted to rape her.
They Retreated Out of Fear
Meanwhile, the girls stated in their testimonies that the accused attempted to engage in inappropriate acts with them, and when they refused, he expelled them from the workshop. However, they retracted their complaints due to fear for their reputations. They later learned through social media that the accused had committed similar acts against others, which prompted them to document their experiences on one of the platforms and file complaints with security authorities.
Verbal and Physical Harassment
In the meantime, the girls published posts on their social media pages revealing their experiences of verbal and physical harassment by the artist while attending an acting training course in a workshop he owned. One of them mentioned that he had assaulted her during training in June of last year, groping her and attempting to kiss her forcefully.
It is noteworthy that Shadi Khalaf is 44 years old and is the son of poet Nabil Suleiman Khalaf, who was previously accused and convicted in a corruption case during his tenure at the Ministry of Interior. Shadi has participated in several films, including "The Three of Them Work It," "365 Days of Happiness," "The First in Love," "It’s Chaos," "Thank You for Calling Me," and "When Maysara."
