Last modified on February 15, 2011 by Brad Phillips

Lara Logan & CBS News’ Perfect Statement

Earlier today, CBS News released a statement about news correspondent Lara Logan that contained horrifying news. Four days ago, Ms. Logan got separated from her crew in Cairo and sustained a “brutal and sustained sexual assault.”

This story sickens me, and I hesitate to even write about it. But Ms. Logan, her family, and CBS deserve credit for handling such a difficult moment with such grace, and I’d like to explain why they handled this moment so well.

Lara Logan

Lara Logan with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” conducts an interview at Eglin Base Air Force Base, Fla., March 18, 2013. Credit: Spc. Steven Young

Too often, journalists – the same people who invade other people’s privacy at sensitive moments as a professional necessity – are the first people to plead for privacy when something happens to them.

But Ms. Logan’s plea for privacy comes only after releasing painful and difficult details – including those that few people want to release. For that, she deserves enormous credit. And precisely because her plea for privacy accompanied the release of key details, her request is likely to be honored.

The full statement from CBS News is below. May Ms. Logan have the most complete recovery possible.

CBS News’ Lara Logan Assaulted During Egypt Protests

CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Separated From Her Crew And Brutally Assaulted on Day Mubarak Stepped Down

(CBSNews)  On Friday, Feb. 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a “60 Minutes” story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.

In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.

There will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.