Chasing homosexuals and atheists, Egypt far from ideal - Analyses - Aswat Masriya
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By Arwa Gaballa
CAIRO, April 9 (Aswat Masriya) As bombs go off on a daily basis in the north and tribal violence kills more than 20 people in the span of three days in the south, Egypt is busy jailing homosexuals and atheists.
“Moral glitch”
Earlier this week, an Egyptian court sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison, fining them for cross-dressing and holding and participating in homosexual group-sex parties, BBC Arabic said.
The prosecutor accused the defendants of dressing like women and having sexual intercourse for money at a Nasr City apartment.
“This makes the scene in Egypt more terrifying. It shows that the community will continue to prosecute and persecute homosexuals,” a gay Egyptian man who asked not to be named told Aswat Masriya.
“It also shows that Egypt will continue treating homosexuality as a moral glitch that should be wiped out — but it can’t be,” he added.
Fourteen men were also detained in October for “committing homosexual acts” at a medical centre in Cairo, but perhaps the most publicized case was in 2001 when 52 Egyptian men stood trial after their arrest at a gay nightclub known as “Queen Boat.”