Egyptian Olympic wrestler released from French police custody without charge, prosecutors say

PARIS (AP) — An Egyptian Olympic wrestler arrested in Paris on sexual assault charges has been released from police custody with all charges dropped, French prosecutors said Saturday.

Tokyo bronze medal-winning wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim el-Sayed was arrested early Friday after allegedly groping a woman from behind outside a Paris cafe.

A statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday that the police custody order for a 26-year-old Olympic wrestler from Egypt, who was not named, “has been lifted and all proceedings (against him) have been terminated without further action because the offence is insufficiently serious.”

The Egyptian Olympic Committee said in a statement Saturday the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against el-Sayed has been shelved. It said the wrestler’s release came after reviewing CCTV video of the alleged incident.

El-Sayed is a Greco-Roman wrestler who competes at 67 kilograms. He wrestled in one match in Paris, a 9-0 loss to Azerbaijan’s Hasrat Jafarov, on Wednesday. He is a five-time African champion and a two-time under-23 world champion.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games