Egypt arrests two people accused of helping stage naked photoshoot on pyramid

Egypt has reportedly arrested two people accused of helping a Danish photographer stage a naked photoshoot on top of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Photographer Andreas Hvid sparked controversy in Egypt after he published a photo showing himself and a woman naked on top of the pyramid, provoking an investigation by Egypt’s ministry of the interior and condemnation from many Egyptians.

The ministry of the interior announced the arrest of a camel driver who works on the Giza plateau, the site of the pyramids, who reportedly helped the pair climb the Great Pyramid for 4,000 LE (about £177), according to local news reports. News outlet Ahram stated that authorities also arrested a woman who helped “mediate the deal”, and that both were under investigation.

The Egyptian minister of antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, described the shot as “a violation of public morality” before referring the incident to Egypt’s prosecutor general and discussing it in parliament, where he condemned the material as “pornographic” and stressed that climbing the pyramid was illegal.

Egyptian officials have also gone to great lengths to question whether the photo is fake, dodging questions about how the couple managed to bypass security measures intended to protect the ancient site.

“We have specialists in Egypt, the court and the judge asked them to analyse the pictures,” said Dr Mostafa Wazir, the head of Egypt’s supreme council for antiquities.

Hvid filmed himself and a woman climbing the 140-metre Great Pyramid on 29 November following several aborted attempts, including one in which he and a Norwegian model were arrested and interrogated by police before being released. The photographer’s work focuses on “urban exploration, nude art, travel stuff”, according to his Instagram.

A photo Hvid posted to Instagram drew a range of comments. “Your critics are fools [and] have forgotten what it means to live!” wrote one person.

“Immature millennial dickhead,” wrote another.