The self-righteous actions of conservative moral crusaders never fail to leave a swath of destruction in their wake. Last December we told you about the raid on an Egyptian bathhouse, lead by conservative moral crusader and all around awful human being Mona Iraqi. Despite the raid probably being illegal, despite the allegations that vice squad leader of the raid Lt. Col. Ahmed Hashad fabricated his testimony, despite the fact that all of the men arrested were acquitted, the social fallout has prompted one of the victims to attempt suicide via self-immolation.
The victim had an interview with the newspaper El-Watan:
I work in a restaurant in the Shobra district. I'm harassed constantly in my workplace by the words of the people and the looks in their eyes.
He also told them that his family locked down on his movements, tried to keep him at home, and one of his brothers insisted on following him everywhere he goes.
About ten days ago, Iraqi returned to television, doubling down on her hate, accusing her detractors of being foreign agents and insisting her raid was about sex trafficking and preventing the spread of AIDS. Hashad, whose lies helped acquit the accused, appeared on the show with her and also doubled down, saying that he had engaged in an extended surveillance of the bathhouse. Two days after the broadcast, the victim attempted suicide.
Paper Bird points out that self-immolations carry particular significance in Egypt as the Arab Spring revolution was instigated by Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi setting fire to himself to protest the governmental bureaucracies that destroyed his livelihood.
