University Professors’ Sexual Harassment Trial Takes Unexpected Turn as Accusers Recant

The first surprise at Monday’s hearing: the court decided to hold the hearing of the presumed victim students in camera. The second surprise: some of them denied having been victims of sexual harassment. One of the presumed victims justified her relationship with one of the accused professors by the fact that they come from the same neighborhood. She also denied any intervention by the latter in her favor in the context of her university curriculum. According to the explanations of a second presumed victim, the messages exchanged with one of the accused were motivated by the support she provided him in the context of the election campaign, reports Assabah. However, she and her alleged harasser do not belong to the same political party.

During their hearing, the five professors accused of sexual harassment - two of whom are being prosecuted in custody - denied the facts they are accused of. They claim to be victims of a settling of scores of which the presumed victim students are the authors. The latter would have denounced them because they had previously denounced cases of cheating during exams.