Last year, after Mubarak fell, Egyptians celebrated in Tahrir Square. A mob of approximately 200 nearly killed CBS Reporter Lara Logan during a sustained and violent sexual assault; her assailants apparently justified their actions by mentally transforming her into a Jew.

It appears that such attacks are now on the rise in Egypt.

The reason? Hosni Mubarak’s sentence is considered to be too light.

Via MSNBC:

Her screams were not drowned out by the clamor of the crazed mob of nearly 200 men around her. An endless number of hands reached toward the woman in the red shirt in an assault scene that lasted less than 15 minutes but felt more like an hour.

She was pushed by the sea of men for about a block into a side street from Tahrir Square. Many of the men were trying to break up the frenzy, but it was impossible to tell who was helping and who was assaulting. Pushed against the wall, the unknown woman’s head finally disappeared. Her screams grew fainter, then stopped. Her slender tall frame had clearly given way. She apparently had passed out.

The helping hands finally splashed the attackers with bottles of water to chase them away.

The assault late Tuesday was witnessed by an Associated Press reporter who was almost overwhelmed by the crowd herself and had to be pulled to safety by men who ferried her out of the melee in an open Jeep.

Reports of assaults on women in Tahrir, the epicenter of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down last year, have been on the rise with a new round of mass protests to denounce a mixed verdict against the ousted leader and his sons in a trial last week.

The lesson appears to be that if you’re a female in Tahrir Square who is the victim of a sexual assault, don’t blame your assailants.

Blame Hosni Mubarak

h/t Hot Air