Head of Abbassiya Psychiatric Hospital Suspended After Leaked Photos of Patients Go Viral

After indecent photos of patients at Abassiya Psychiatric Hospital circulated Egypt's social media earlier this week, Egypt's Health Ministry suspended the hospital's head along with 11 staff members pending further investigation into the case, Ahram Online reports. 

In the photos, naked patients are seen lying down on the floor as if bathing. The incident, which violates a 2009 law prohibiting violating patients' privacy, sparked furry after the indecent photos went viral on social media channels, last Sunday. 

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed confirms that an investigation into the case is underway. Egypt's top prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered a thorough examination of the incident, with the hospital patients having already been questioned in the hope of unearthing the perpetrators. According to a health ministry official, the motivation behind the compromising pictures of the patients was a disgruntled nurse's reaction over a rejected department transfer request. 

Abbasiya Psychiatric hospital is one the oldest mental institutions in Egypt and dates back to 1883, which is when it was converted from a royal palace to an asylum, which is still the biggest in Egypt to date.

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