Egypt court aquits 26 men arrested in ‘gay’ raid News
Egypt court aquits 26 men arrested in ‘gay’ raid

[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Monday acquitted 26 men arrested during a police raid of a bathhouse in search of gay men. The raid and ensuing trial were highly publicized, leading many of the charged men to hide their faces throughout the process. The charges [AP report] against the men included prostitution, debauchery and indecent acts. Currently, there are no laws criminalizing homosexuality in Egypt, but conservative members of the government have utilized old laws to prosecute homosexual acts. Many activists have speculated that the targeting of homosexuals in Egypt is the result of efforts by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi [BBC profile] to paint himself as a protector of morals and religious values in spite of the rivalry between the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists within the country. Human rights groups have reported that 2014 was the one of the worst years for the Egyptian gay community, as 150 men were arrested or put on trial for their sexual orientation.

In November an Egyptian court Saturday convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] eight men to three years in prison following their participation in an alleged same-sex wedding party. The men denied the charges. The men were referred to trial [JURIST report] for “inciting debauchery” after appearing in a video of what was said to be the country’s first same-sex marriage. The men were arrested [JURIST report] for the video after it went viral on the Internet.