See also:
» 25.02.2013 - Opposition to boycott another Egypt election?
» 24.03.2011 - Still double standards in Egypt justice
» 09.03.2011 - Leaks: "Mubarak behind 2005 terror attack"
» 03.03.2011 - Egypt PM Shafiq resigns after protests
» 30.11.2010 - Mubarak: "Egypt must consider nuclear bomb"
» 19.03.2010 - Egypt speculates over President's health
» 03.03.2010 - UN deplores lethal force by Egyptian security
» 19.02.2010 - Rights groups hail report recommendations











China wholesale online through DHgate.com


Houlihan's coupons


Finn autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden på Verdensmat.no:
Gazpacho Børek Kartoffelsalat Taboulé Gulasj Albóndigas Cevapi Rougaille Japrak sarma Zwiebelbrot Klopse Giouvetsi Paella Pljeskavica Pica pau Pulpo a la gallega Flammkuchen Langosj Tapenade Chatsjapuri Pasulj Lassi Kartoffelpuffer Tortilla Raznjici Knödel Lentejas Bœuf bourguignon Korianderchutney Brenneslesuppe Proia Sæbsi kavurma Sardinske calamares


Autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden finner du på Verdensmat.no:
Réunion Portugal Aserbajdsjan Serbia Tyskland Seychellene Bosnia Spania Libanon Belgia India Kroatia Hellas Italia Ungarn Komorene Georgia Mauritius Østerrike Romania Frankrike


Egypt
Politics | Society | Gay - Lesbian | Health | Human rights

'Stop criminalizing HIV'

afrol News, 7 February - Criminalisation of HIV/AIDs in Egyptian has been criticised by rights groups, fearing it would endanger public health, justice and human rights.

Right activists have sharply reacted to a series of arrests in the Egyptian capital Cairo after one man admitted to police that he was HIV-positive.

Officials of the New York based Human Rights Watch wondered why police have been acting on the "dangerous belief that HIV is not a condition to be treated but a crime to be punished."

Egyptian authorities have been asked to overturn the convictions of four men for the “habitual practice of debauchery,” and to free four others who are held pending trial. Activitists urged the government to end arbitrary arrests based on HIV status and take steps to end prejudice and misinformation about HIV/AIDS.

“These shocking arrests and trials embody both ignorance and injustice,” said Scott Long, Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch.

“Egypt threatens not just its international reputation but its own population if it responds to the HIV/AIDS epidemic with prison terms instead of prevention and care.”

Egyptian police began the arrests in October 2997 when police stopped two men having an altercation on the streets of central Cairo. The men were immediately escorted to the morality police office for investigation for homosexual conduct when one of them confessed that he was HIV-positive.

Apart from beating and handcuffing the men for their refusal to sign statements prepared by the police, the men were also subjected to forensic anal examinations designed to "prove" that they had engaged in homosexual conduct.

Human Rights Watch said such examinations to detect "evidence" of homosexuality are not only medically spurious but constitute torture.

Two other men were arrested after their photographs or telephone numbers were found on the first two detainees.

All the four, who were subjected to HIV tests without their consent, are still in detention.

The police also raided an apartment previously occupied by one of the suspects and arrested and detained four other men they found fully dressed.

The men explained their ordeal to human rights defenders. One of them who tested positive said he was told by the prosecutor that "people like you should be burnt alive. You do not deserve to live."

On 13 January 2008, a court in Cairo convicted the four men for under Article 9 (c) of the 1961 Act, which criminalises the "habitual practice of debauchery [fujur]" - a term that penalises consensual homosexual conduct in Egyptian law.

Defense lawyers blamed the court for merely relying on the prosecution's "coerced and repudiated statements taken from the men" to sentence them to one year in prison. It has neither called witnesses, nor produced tangible evidence to counter their pleas of not guilty.

A court of appeal upheld the men's sentence on 2 February. One of them has since been chained to his bed 23 hours a
day.

“HIV tests forcibly taken without consent, ill-treatment in detention, trials driven by prejudice, and convictions withoutevidence all violate international law," Long complained, accusing Egyptian authorities of violating human rights and privacy of individuals.


- Create an e-mail alert for Egypt news
- Create an e-mail alert for Politics news
- Create an e-mail alert for Society news
- Create an e-mail alert for Gay - Lesbian news
- Create an e-mail alert for Health news
- Create an e-mail alert for Human rights news


 
    Printable version


On the Afrol News front page now

Rwanda
Rwanda succeeds including citizens in formal financial sector

afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.

Famine warning: "South Sudan is imploding"

afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
Guinea
Panic in West Africa after Ebola outbreak in Guinea

afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia tightens its already strict anti-gay laws

afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia plans Africa's biggest dam

afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.



front page | news | countries | archive | currencies | news alerts login | about afrol News | contact | advertise | español 

©  afrol News. Reproducing or buying afrol News' articles.

   You can contact us at mail@afrol.com