“A monster”: Dozens of women accuse Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault

At least 37 women have accused former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, who died in 2023, of rape and sexual assault, their lawyers announced on Friday, denouncing a “system” of predation and comparing the case to those targeting Americans Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

The women, who come from Australia, Malaysia, Italy, Romania, the United States and Canada, have alleged that they were sexually abused by Al-Fayed. At least five of them accuse him of rape.

Some of the complainants were minors at the time of the events, “aged only 15 and 16”, according to the lawyers who announced that they were taking legal action against Harrods.

They denounced “a quarter of a century of sexual assaults”, claiming that the management of the famous London department store, sold by Al-Fayed in 2010, was “aware of it”.

The accusers are many former employees of Harrods, and some of the Ritz in Paris, a luxury hotel which the businessman also owned.

Barrister Dean Armstrong KC, a member of the legal team featured in the BBC investigation ‘Al-Fayed: A predator at Harrods’, at a press conference in London on September 20, 2024 (AFP/Ben STANSALL)

Al-Fayed “was a monster, a monster who was able to act thanks to a system (…) put in place and established by Harrods,” said lawyer Dean Armstrong, opening a press conference in London.

This was held the day after the broadcast of a BBC investigation, entitled “Al-Fayed: a predator at Harrods”. Around twenty women testified in this documentary. Around ten were present on Friday at the press conference.

Since its broadcast, several others have come forward to denounce attacks of which they accuse the father of Princess Diana’s last lover, Dodi – who died with her in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.

“We are pursuing Harrods and we are focusing on Harrods at this stage in the name of collective corporate responsibility,” the lawyer explained, adding that he had evidence showing that these actions constituted a repetitive pattern.

Harrods store in London, September 20, 2024 (AFP/Ben STANSALL)

“If Harrods management feel they should compensate these women financially… of course that is something we would welcome, but we will not accept being accused of being only interested in money. It is about much more than that,” he added.

The current management of the famous store, which came under Qatari control in 2010, has “firmly condemned” the behavior of its former owner, and apologized for having “let down the employees who were his victims.”

The department store has reached amicable settlements with some of the accusers who have come forward since 2023. New requests were received after the BBC documentary aired.

– “I’m not afraid anymore” –

US lawyer Gloria Allred, a member of the legal team featured in the BBC investigation “Al-Fayed: A predator at Harrods”, at a press conference in London on September 20, 2024 (AFP/Ben STANSALL)

For its part, the Ritz Paris told AFP that it “firmly condemns any form of behavior that does not conform to the values ​​of the establishment,” adding that it was “firmly committed to fostering an environment in which employees and customers are treated with respect and integrity.”

In London on Friday, lawyers for the accusers called on other potential victims to come forward.

Gloria Allred, an American lawyer known for defending women’s rights in high-profile trials, including that of financier Jeffrey Epstein, stressed that “beneath the glitz and glamour” of the famous department store, there existed “a toxic, dangerous and violent environment.”

Lawyer Dean Armstrong compared Al-Fayed to Epstein “because there was a procurement system in place to find the women” who would then be sexually assaulted.

According to the BBC, he had already been accused of similar acts and the police had opened an investigation in 2015 for rape. Contacted by AFP, the London police explained that they had investigated several times into acts of sexual assault, targeting Mohamed Al-Fayed, without any prosecution subsequently being brought against him.

Mohamed Al-Fayed was “a sick predator,” said Natacha, one of the accusers. “I was so young, I didn’t know what to do or how to react,” she added, saying she was “no longer afraid.”

Harrods store owner Mohamed Al-Fayed on July 27, 2007 in London (AFP/Archives/SHAUN CURRY)

She describes having undergone gynecological examinations imposed by the former owner of the department store and describes encounters with him: “his hands on my face” and “on my body”.

“I was subjected to HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing,” she said. Like them, several other accusers were forced to take these tests, the lawyers revealed.

“He was a monster, even if we didn’t realize it at the time,” Natacha insisted.

Mohamed Al-Fayed, born on January 27, 1929 in a modest suburb of Alexandria, Egypt, spent much of his life in Great Britain, where he became the owner of Harrods in 1985 and of the Fulham FC football club between 1997 and 2013.

© 2024 AFP

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