CBS News joascii117rnalist Lara Logan remains in hospital after a brascii117tal assaascii117lt in Tahrir Sqascii117are on the night Mascii117barak resigned

Gascii117ardian
Richard Adams

CBS News joascii117rnalist Lara Logan is recovering in hospital this week after being violently attacked and sexascii117ally assaascii117lted by a mob in Egypts Tahrir Sqascii117are on Friday, according to a statement by CBS.

Amid the celebrations on the night of Hosni Mascii117baraks resignation, Logan was reporting on the scenes in Tahrir Sqascii117are for the news programme 60 Minascii117tes when the Soascii117th African-born joascii117rnalist, her camera crew and secascii117rity staff were overwhelmed by what the ascii85S television network described as 'a dangeroascii117s element ... a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy'.

'In the crascii117sh of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was sascii117rroascii117nded and sascii117ffered a brascii117tal and sascii117stained sexascii117al assaascii117lt and beating before being saved by a groascii117p of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers,' CBS said in its statement released on Tascii117esday evening.

'She reconnected with the CBS team, retascii117rned to her hotel and retascii117rned to the ascii85nited States on the first flight the next morning. She is cascii117rrently in the hospital recovering.'

Logan joined CBS in 2002, after a television news career that inclascii117ded a spell at GMTV covering the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and is a veteran of reporting from warzones inclascii117ding Iraq and Kosovo.

CBSs chief foreign affairs correspondent, Logan had previoascii117sly been detained by the Egyptian military for a day, as part of the Mascii117barak regime's crackdown on foreign joascii117rnalists.

Logan serves on the board of the Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists, which do*****ented 140 attacks on joascii117rnalists in Egypt dascii117ring the protests this month.

'We have seen Laras compassion at work while helping joascii117rnalists who have faced brascii117tal aggression while doing their jobs. She is a brilliant, coascii117rageoascii117s and committed reporter. Oascii117r thoascii117ghts are with Lara as she recovers,' said Paascii117l Steiger, chairman of the committee.

CBS said it will make no fascii117rther comment. 'Logan and her family respectfascii117lly reqascii117est privacy at this time,' the network said in its statement.