CBS News says correspondent Lara Logan "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault" while covering the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
The CBS statement:
On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a 60 MINUTES story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.
There will be no further comment from CBS News and Correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.
On Tuesday's "CBS Evening News," Katie Couric said that she was "pleased to report" that Logan is "recovering well in the hospital."
Logan had previously been detained by Egyptian authorities while attempting to enter Cairo.
The Committee to Protect Journalists report on attacks on the press in Egypt in 2005 referenced female journalists facing sexual assault:
A report published in 2005 by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said that "journalists in Egypt suffer numerous forms of discrimination including unfairness in legislation, judicial prosecution of journalists for their writing and opinions, assault and death threats, and sexual assault of female journalists."
