Al Fayed is accused of “raping employees for decades”

LONDON:

The late Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed sexually abused female employees of his London department store Harrods, forced them to undergo medical examinations and threatened consequences if they filed a complaint, lawyers for alleged victims said on Friday.

A woman who worked for Fayed at the luxury department store in Knightsbridge called him “a monster”. Harrods apologised on Thursday after more than 20 women told the BBC that Al Fayed – who died last year aged 94 – had sexually abused them and in some cases even raped them.

“Beneath the glitz and glamour of Harrods lay a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment,” lawyer Gloria Allred told a news conference. She said the allegations included serial rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse of minors committed over 25 years.

Another lawyer, Dean Armstrong, said they had represented 37 women and that number was likely to rise. According to a BBC documentary broadcast on Thursday, Harrods failed to intervene and helped cover up allegations of abuse when Al Fayed was owner between 1985 and 2010.

Lawyer Maria Mulla said that when female employees were selected for jobs such as secretaries or personal assistants, they had to undergo medical tests, such as cervical and ovarian exams. “When the women asked why these tests were necessary, they were told: he wanted to make sure they were clean,” Mulla said. Workers were threatened if they tried to complain about the abuse, she said.

Harrods said it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations. “These were the actions of an individual seeking to abuse his power,” it said in a statement. The department store said it was now a “very different organisation”.