Harrods|According to the lawyers, the practices prevailing at Harrods at the time enabled the harassment practiced by Mohamed al-Fayed.
in Britain former owner of luxury department store Harrods, deceased Mohamed al-Fayed Accusations of sexual harassment are piling up.
Lawyers representing the victims say that 37 women have accused al-Fayed of harassment. Lawyers believe that more allegations will emerge.
The topic became public on Thursday, when the British public broadcasting company BBC reported that more than twenty former Harrods employees accused al-Fayed of sexual harassment. Five of the women say al-Fayed raped them.
According to former employees interviewed by the BBC, harassment was common knowledge among employees. According to the BBC, Harrods not only failed to address the harassment, but also helped cover up the allegations against al-Fayed. Al-Fayed owned Harrods from 1985 to 2010.
Today at the press conference held on Friday, the lawyer Dean Armstrong quoth the BBC according to which the established practices at Harrods at the time enabled al-Fayed to operate.
“Our only goal is to seek justice for the survivors of Mohamed al-Fayed’s sexual harassment,” Armstrong said.
According to the lawyers, the accusations against al-Fayed include, among other things, rape, sexual violence, sexual abuse of minors and the unauthorized disclosure of the results of medical examinations, the BBC reports.
Harrods’ female employees, for example, were given gynecological checks when they started their jobs, the lawyers said. Women who experienced harassment, on the other hand, could be threatened to keep quiet.
Harrods the current owners have said they are appalled by the allegations and apologize to the victims for their treatment. Harrods says it is offering al-Fayed’s victims the opportunity for a mediation process.
According to Armstrong, Harrods’ claim that the department store did not know about the allegations until last year is false.
According to the lawyers, accusations have also been made in companies other than Harrods. Al-Fayed once owned, for example, the football club Fulham.
Egyptian al-Fayed, who lived most of his life in Britain, died last year at the age of 94. Accusations of sexual harassment were made against Al-Fayed even when he was alive, but now the accusations that have become public are more serious and extensive than before.
Al-Fayed was married to a Finnish former model Heini Wathénin with, and the couple had four children together in the 1980s. Al-Fayed’s son from a previous marriage Dodi dated a princess Diana’s with.
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