Egyptian man who allegedly filmed Ukrainian tourist 'in underwear' faces up to six years in prison

CAIRO – An Egyptian man who allegedly filmed a Ukrainian tourist in skimpy clothes in the Egyptian capital Cairo last week may face up to six years in prison, lawyer Hany Sameh said.

"[If found guilty], the man who filmed the video will face two charges: violating the private life of people by filming, punished by up to three years in prison and attacking the privacy of a person electronically, penalised by also up to a three-year sentence," added Sameh, who filed a complaint against the Egyptian defendant.

"As a lawyer, I have the constitutional capacity of defending the public rights of citizens," he told talk show host Mohamed El-Baz during a phone interview broadcast on El-Nahar satellite TV channel.  

"This act [of videotaping the woman] is offensive to the Egyptian state… making us look like a retrogressive country," Sameh argued.

This stands in contrast to other measures taken against tourists in the country.

Last week, an Ukrainian tourist was arrested in the outskirts of Cairo after she hung laundry on the balcony of her flat in her underwear.

Neighbours reported the incident to the police who arrested the woman.

Dubbed "the balcony lady", pictures and videos showing the incident were shared on social media.

The Ukrainian woman told the police and the prosecution that she knew little about Egyptian laws and customs and that she would do the same in her homeland.

She added that she had no intention of spreading immorality as claimed by social media users and her neighbours.

She was eventually released after vowing not to repeat the act.