Egyptian police arrest 'beer girl' after video shows assault on ride-hailing driver

Egyptian authorities arrested a woman after a video showed her attacking a ride-hailing driver who objected to her drinking alcohol and filmed the confrontation in Cairo.

• Egypt's Interior Ministry said officers identified and arrested the woman, a resident of Cairo's Al-Darb al-Ahmar district, who confessed to the assault.
• The Fifth Settlement prosecution opened an investigation after the driver filed a complaint on September 14 accusing the woman of assault and drinking alcohol in his car.
• The woman's mother said Egyptian law permits buying and drinking alcohol and claimed the driver provoked her daughter by filming her without permission.
• Egyptian legal consultant Sayed Ali al-Mohammadi said the indecent act of drinking alcohol in the car, the insult and the threat of a fabricated theft accusation carry prison terms under Egyptian law.
• Criminal appeals lawyer Amr Abdel Salam said drinking beer in a car violates Egypt's Law No. 63 of 1976, punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine.
• The confrontation began after a traffic collision on Cairo's Ring Road, according to the circulated video and remarks attributed to one of the drivers.
• Egypt's Interior Ministry said the passenger threw the beer bottle at the driver and tore his clothes during the assault.
• The woman's mother said her daughter bought the beer because she suffers from kidney stones.
• The New Cairo Prosecution ordered the release of the ride-hailing driver while continuing legal procedures against the passenger, who admitted to the assault.