EGYPTIAN ACTRESS ZEINA DENIES ASSAULT ON TOURISTS IN DUBAI
▶ Family say she shouted at girl, 11, then bit and scratched the couple
The Egyptian actress Zeina publicly denied claims she has attacked a family of American tourists at a Dubai hotel.
The celebrity was questioned by police over an alleged assault on June 29 of a couple and their 11-year-old daughter at Atlantis, The Palm.
Zeina has more than two million followers on Instagram and has appeared in several films and television shows in her homeland.
She is accused of carrying out the attack – sparked by a dispute over the taking of pictures – with her sister and a third woman at the Gold Lounge in the hotel.
The family accuses Zeina, 41, of scratching and biting the girl and scratching her mother.
They say her sister also bit the man, 47, on the shoulder.
The film star said on her official Facebook page that she asked the family to stop taking pictures of her, only for them to insult and assault her and her sister.
“I was surprised when I was in one of the restaurants at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai by intruders in my personal life who photographed me,” she wrote. “Privacy breach is … a crime in the UAE. Therefore, I have asked them with all respect and kindness to stop photographing me secretly [or off guard]. Unfortunately, my courteous plea was met with utmost harm as my sister and I were badmouthed and assaulted by the entire family.
“I have immediately contacted the police to report the incident and I was the first to place a police call and this is proven, I have also requested to discharge all the cameras which naturally picked up what happened in detail.”
Zeina wrote that the family was detained for investigation and that they have been banned from travel until the inquiry is complete.
“Days after the incident, the family have repeatedly tried to reconcile and apologise via ‘mediators’, but I refused,” she wrote.
“I am firmly determined to claim my rights to the fullest, especially [because] UAE authorities are currently dealing with the incident utterly free from prejudice.”
On the night of the incident, Dubai Police received a report and a patrol was sent to the scene. The actress, her sister, the tourist and his family were taken to Al Barsha police station.
The man told police that Zeina and her sister had attacked his family. “When I arrived, she was ahead of me and told police officers that I assaulted her as well, so they accused us of mutual assault. We gave our testimonies then left and on Sunday I headed to the American consulate, which referred me to legal consultant Hassan Elhais,” he said.
The man said the family went to Rashid hospital for a medical examination, which, he said, confirmed an assault had taken place that included bites, scratches and bruises.
The man told police he heard the woman screaming at his daughter. He approached her and said his daughter did not speak Arabic. He said he did not know the woman’s identity.
“I told her it was inappropriate to scream like that using such words but she shifted to English and cursed all of us and accused my daughter of filming her,” the man said.
He said he told the woman that his daughter was merely taking pictures of his son, 5.
“Then, she said something about her identity and who she was, before she and her sister and a third lady attacked us. She bit my wife, then attacked my daughter, scratched her, and bit her before she snatched the phone out of her hand and broke it. Her sister bit me on the shoulder.”
The incident is being investigated by Dubai Police.