“A quarter century of sexual assault”

Lawyers for women accusing Mohamed Al-Fayed of rape and sexual assault have received “more than 150 new requests” for information from potential accusers and people with evidence against the former Harrods owner, they said Saturday. At a press conference on Friday, the lawyers denounced “a quarter-century of sexual assault.”

At least 37 women have accused Mohamed Al-Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, of rape and sexual assault. At least five of them say they were raped by the man, who was the father of Princess Diana’s last companion, Dodi, who died with her in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.

The team of lawyers representing the victims has received “more than 150 new requests” for information since the BBC broadcast an investigation entitled “Al-Fayed: A predator at Harrods” on Thursday evening. These are requests from “survivors and people with evidence relating to Al-Fayed”, it told AFP.

The Harrods website has also made available a form for victims to fill out. “If you wish to make a claim for compensation, Harrods has an established procedure in place, with the assistance of specialist external lawyers,” it says.

During the press conference, the lawyers denounced a “system” of predation and compared the case to those of the Americans Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

The accusers are many former employees of Harrods, and some of the Ritz in Paris, a luxury hotel that Mohamed Al-Fayed also owned.

On Saturday, a former Fulham FC manager said measures had been taken to protect the players from Mohamed Al-Fayed, its owner between 1997 and 2013.

“I read all the papers yesterday and to be honest it’s not a huge surprise,” Gaute Haugenes, a former manager of Fulham’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC. “We knew he liked blonde girls so we made sure that these situations didn’t happen. We protected the players,” he continued.

Fulham FC have said they are “deeply disturbed and concerned” by the allegations against their former owner. “We have sincere empathy for the women who have come forward with their experiences,” a spokesperson added, explaining that Fulham FC was “investigating whether anyone within the club was affected.”

Victim or witness of sexual assault?