The President of the Egyptian Wrestling Federation Mohamed Mahmoud has provided an update regarding the arrest of wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim Kisho in Paris.
Egyptian wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim Kisho has been arrested in Paris following allegations of sexual assault and public intoxication.
Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed, commonly known as Kisho, represented Egypt at the Men’s Greco-Roman 67 kg event but was eliminated early on in the Round of 16 after losing bronze-medalist winner Hasrat Jafarov.
He was due to return to Egypt in the upcoming hours but had been granted permission to leave the Egyptian camp early to watch a wrestling match in his weight category, before switching off his phone and going AWOL.
In the early hours of Friday, Kisho was arrested on suspicion of sexually harassing a woman in a bar near the Seine River on Quai d’Austerlitz in Paris, with the incident reportedly taking place at 4:30 AM.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, Kisho was heavily intoxicated at the time of the arrest.
Asked about the incident and Kisho’s current situation, Mohamed Mahmoud said: “Kisho asked for permission yesterday to watch the finals of his weight category along with Mohamed Metwally and their coach Mohamed Ibrahim.
“Metwally and Ibrahim returned without Kisho, assuming he had grown tired of watching the matches and we tried to contact him, but his phone was switched off.
“We informed the Olympic Committee about his absence, and they intensified the search until we received news at 4 AM that he had gone with two Egyptians residing in France and sat in a place resembling a café.
“In France, all places naturally have alcoholic beverages, so ‘he might have been drunk, only God knows.’
“Another group of young people, including girls, were there, and ‘they might have bothered them,’ which led to the guards ejecting everyone.
“The girl called the police and accused Kisho, saying ‘This is the one who bothered me.’ Whether she perceived what happened as harassment or if he actually harassed her, we don’t yet know the exact details of the incident.
“We conducted an investigation within the committee and questioned everyone. The Olympic Committee referred the matter to the Ethics Committee, and we certainly reject any inappropriate personal behavior.
“The ambassador and the Minister of Sports are trying because things are extremely strict here. ‘It’s not like back home where you can intervene through connections.’ There’s nothing like that here in France.
“Kisho is still in police custody, but there’s a glimmer of hope for his release and return to Egypt. If he is found to have made a mistake, he will be held accountable, but if the matter is resolved, he might be released tomorrow.”
Kisho represented Egypt at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and claimed a bronze medal at the 67 kg event, defeating Artem Surkov.
He also has five gold medals in the African Championships, two golds in the African Games, and two further golds in the World U23 Championships in 2018 and 2019.