CBS correspondent Lara Logan was assaulted and beaten in Egypt on the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down.
Logan was covering the celebration in Tahrir Square for a 60 Minutes story on Friday February 11, when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a mob of more than 200 people.
In the midst of the celebration, she was separated from her crew and was assaulted and beaten. It took a group of women to step up and save the reporter along with the assistance of approximately 20 Egyptian soldiers.
She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and flew back to the United States on the first flight the next morning.
Logan was in hospital recovering from her injuries and expected to leave the hospital Wednesday, February 16th.
Logan’s assault reportedly lasted between 20 and 30 minutes.
Sources familiar with the situation told TMZ that the details of Logan’s assault are horrible but Logan is back with her family and is vowing to go back to work within weeks.
One source said Logan has an “incredibly tough constitution” and she is candidly discussing what happened to her.
As one friend said, “She is going to be OK.”
The respected and tough foreign correspondent is “unbelievably strong.”
Being a foreign journalist is a highly dangerous job but when a female journalist is raped, it is absolutely devastating.
This story has shocked many, but even more disturbing are some of the comments being made about the terrible incident. Journalist Nir Rosen resigned after making terrible comments about Logan’s assault.
We wish Logan a speedy recovery.
UPDATE:
On February 20th, The Sunday Times reported that Logan was beaten with fists and flag poles and the mob tore Logan’s clothes off and attacked her for 30 minutes, leaving her covered in red welts.
Some of the wounds initially looked like bite marks but later proved to be from “aggressive pinching,” the Times reported, citing American sources. Logan’s team was also hurt; a security guard suffered a broken hand reportedly.
The mob shouted “Spy!” and “Israeli!” as they surrounded Logan and her colleagues at about 1 a.m., the Times said. Xenophobia may have played a role; Egypt’s state media had been telling Egyptians that foreigners were ruining the country’s reputation and that foreign journalists were actually disguised Israeli spies.