British journalist hospitalized in Beirut after attackers tore her clothes and tried to strangle her in an attempted rape while jogging

A British journalist was raped while jogging in Beirut, according to local security forces.

The unnamed reporter was running along the banks of the Lebanese capital when her assailant allegedly ambushed her outside a children’s entertainment center in the Biel area last Wednesday.

The man was arrested and officials later said he was Syrian and had confessed to 30 similar assaults during questioning.

Lebanese internal security forces released a photo of the unnamed suspected attacker and added that they had arrested the suspect for “attempted rape”.

A statement released via Twitter on Sunday, April 2, read: “The Ministry of Information arrested the suspect in record time in the attack and attempted rape of a British journalist in the Beirut port area at KIDS MONDO , which took place on March 29. /2023.

“The investigation is under the supervision of the competent judiciary.”

An illustrative photograph of the Beirut waterfront in Lebanon, where a Syrian attempted to rape a British journalist, undated. He tried to rape her while jogging

The British journalist’s identity and current condition are currently unclear, but local reports indicate that she has been admitted to hospital.

According to an update from Lebanese security forces, the attacker “molested and attempted to rape” [the journalist]when he tore her clothes, beat her, tried to suffocate her and escaped on a bicycle.”

They claimed the perpetrator told the officers upon his arrest that “he has been hunting girls for about eight months to molest them and touch their bodies, especially girls of foreign nationality”.

The Union of Progressive Women, a Lebanon-based nonprofit that advocates for women’s rights and aims to eradicate gender-based violence, issued a response.

The statement reads: “The attempted rape of a young woman in Beirut is a wake-up call for all women and girls in Lebanon – not only in Biel, but in all Lebanese streets, alleys, shops and neighborhoods where there is no light not. , no security guards, no officially designated safe places to practice sports, and no surveillance cameras.”