An Egyptian army doctor accused of forcing detained women to undergo virginity tests was acquitted Sunday by a military court after finding that the evidence brought against the defendant was inconclusive, DPA reported.
Activist Samira Ibrahim claimed she was forced to undergo a test when she was detained along with 17 others in March 2011, when army forces attempted to disperse a sit-in in central Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The case had sparked widespread condemnation from local and international human rights groups, as well as anger against the country's ruling military council.
But Ahmed Adel, the doctor, was found not-guilty due to conflicting witness accounts, the court said.
Activists outside the court started chanting "Down with military rule" after the verdict was read out.
In December, a court banned the practice of forcing detained women to undergo virginity tests.
Although the military initially denied having conducted the tests, several army generals admitted later that the incident had in fact taken place, "to prevent the women from claiming they had been sexually assaulted or raped while in detention."