Egyptian wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim Kisho has spoken for the first time since his arrest by the French police over sexual harassment accusations.

Egyptian wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim Kisho was 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 on Friday 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.

A day after his arrest, the Egyptian Olympic Committee revealed that Kisho had been released by the French police due to lack of evidence.

Expected to arrive in Egypt on Saturday evening, Kisho told the media center of the Egyptian Olympic Committee: “I was wronged.

“I went to watch the wrestling finals, and after the day ended, I was at a café. I was not drunk, as some have claimed.

“I am innocent and ready to undergo medical tests to verify my claims. The French woman told the police that I harassed her, but that never happened.

“The French woman spoke to me in French, which I don’t understand. A friend of mine intervened to translate, and an argument occurred. When the police arrived, she told them that I harassed her.

“I requested the camera footage to be reviewed in the presence of the lawyer and the Egyptian ambassador. After watching the videos, my innocence was proven, and I was released. I was not deported from France and will return to Egypt on my scheduled date.

“I thank Ashraf Sobhi, the Minister of Sports, Youssef Alaa, Egypt’s ambassador to France, and Yasser Idriss, the President of the Olympic Committee, for all their support and efforts in the past hours.”