UK: More Women Accuse Ex-Harrods Owner of Sexual Assault
Another woman has accused the late former owner of British department store Harrods, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, of sexually assaulting her when she was 21. She said he 'put his hands on [her] breast' at his London apartment in 2007....
0:00
/1861
Facts
- Another woman has accused the late former owner of British department store Harrods, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, of sexually assaulting her when she was 21. She said he 'put his hands on [her] breast' at his London apartment in 2007.[1]
- Al Fayed, whose alleged decades-long abuse was revealed in a recent BBC documentary, is now accused of raping five women and sexually assaulting at least 15 others at his properties in London, Saint-Tropez, and Abu Dhabi, and the former Duke of Windsor's home in Paris.[2][3]
- A group of lawyers — including those featured in the BBC documentary — representing 37 women with similar claims against the former Harrods' boss spoke at a press conference on Friday, saying they expect more allegations to emerge.[4][5]
- The former head of the Metropolitan Police's royalty protection said that police were informed about such allegations in the 1990s and that he had warned an advisor to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Al Fayed's son, Dodi Fayed, died alongside Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997.[6]
- Al Fayed, who owned Harrods from 1985-2010 and died last year at 94, was previously written about in Vanity Fair in 1995 and investigated by police in 2009 and 2013. Claims against him include the alleged assault of a 15-year-old girl, though he was never prosecuted.[7]
- Harrods' new owner, a Qatari state-run investment firm, said it became aware of the new allegations last year, adding that it 'has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.'[8][7]
Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]New York Post, [3]Sky News, [4]Al Jazeera, [5]CBC, [6]LBC, [7]Washington Post and [8]CNN.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Independent. Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster on par with Jimmy Savile, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein. His money and power, particularly as the owner of the department store, allowed him to build a dangerously toxic work environment where he could abuse women with impunity. It's tragic that due to this power, his victims only felt capable of speaking up after his death.
- Narrative B, as provided by Socialist Worker. The case of Al Fayed goes far beyond a toxic work environment and all the way to the top of the British government and the Royal Family. It's no wonder that the man who bought off members of parliament and had a relationship with the former Duke of Windsor was never prosecuted. Women were likely kept quiet not just by their powerful boss but by the entire upper echelon of British society.
