Egypt
Trial of suspected homosexuals continues in Cairo 

afrol News, 8 September - The second trial of 50 of the so-called "Cairo 52" men continued in Cairo today. The 50 defendants include both those who were acquitted as well as those who were convicted in an earlier trial that ended November 14, 2001. At today's hearing, Judge Hassan Al-Sayef took steps favourable to the defence. 

The Judge issued a summons to the police who were responsible for the Queen Boat arrests; at the next hearing, these police officers may be submitted to cross-examination for the first time. 

Judge Al-Sayef also approved a motion requesting daily records of 3 downtown police stations for the 5 days preceding the raid of the Queen Boat in the night of May 10/11, 2001. Defence attorneys have argued that proper arrest procedures had not been followed, that the arrests had been made at random, and that charges had been fabricated by ambitious vice squad officers. 

- The hearing today was encouraging, stated Scott Long of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). "At the same time, we are receiving new reports of Internet entrapment and continuous arrests of suspected homosexuals in Egypt. We will remain vigilant until all 50 men are declared innocent, and the harassment stops," he added.

The defendants were first arrested on or around the night of 10-11 May 2001. That night, police raided the 'Queen Boat' discotheque in Cairo, believed to be a gay men's gathering place. Other police pickups followed in the next days. The 52 were allegedly tortured in detention, and jailed continuously until their trial. 

All 52 pleaded innocent. The verdicts were handed down at a hearing on 14 November 2001. Twenty-one defendants were convicted of the "habitual practice of debauchery" under Article 9(c) of Law 10/1961 (on the Combat of Prostitution). One defendant was convicted of "contempt for religion" under Article 98f of the Penal Code. Another defendant, accused of being the "ringleader," was convicted of both charges and received the heaviest sentence, five years of hard labour. 

In late May, the State Security Office for the Ratification of Verdicts - an arm of the Egyptian Presidency, which is the only possible review for decisions of Emergency State Security Courts - cancelled the court decisions in the 50 cases involving the "habitual practice of debauchery." The grounds were that this crime did not merit trial before the repressive special courts. The convictions of the two defendants for "contempt of religion" were upheld. All but those two now face a second trial. 

Egypt's persecution of suspected homosexuals has been condemned by international human rights organisations, prominent European politicians, members of the US Congress and mechanisms of the United Nations. 

The international outrage against the attacks on homosexuals in Egypt has not been mirrored in Egypt. On the contrary, the Egyptian press has been scandalised by the alleged behaviour of the accused and has campaigned strongly against them. National human rights groups have not dared to defend these alleged gays, noting that the general outrage against gays in Egypt would subvert their credibility in addressing other pressing human rights violations. 

Interestingly, homosexual practice is documented to be an institutionalised part of Egyptian human relations in pre-Islamic and throughout Islamic times, although being the "passive" part in sexual intercourse generally is plastered with taboos unless the individual is an adolescent. The "active" part is in no way perceived as homosexual and young boys - if they do not continue to be "passive" in adult life - neither are considered homosexuals. 

Continuing to be "passive" in adult life - or even assuming a Western "gay" identity, a stated preference of same-sex relationship - is profoundly rejected in Egyptian society. The introduction of a Western "gay" identity and the emerging Cairo "gay scene" seems to be the background for the sudden criminal prosecution of homosexuals in Egypt initiated last year.

Sources: Based on IGLHRC and afrol archives

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