News
Accused Gay Egyptian Men Sentenced
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Listen to the BBC report in Arabic from Cairo (Real Audio)
CAIRO, Egypt –– Twenty-three Egyptian men accused of being gay were sentenced Wednesday to jail terms from one to five years in a trial that human rights groups have denounced as persecution of people's sexual orientation. Another 29 men also in the case were acquitted, prompting cries of joy from relatives who had denied the charges and accused the Egyptian media during the four-month trial of sensationalism and destroying the young men's reputations.
There were chaotic scenes outside the courthouse before the verdicts were announced. Only a few people had been allowed into the courtroom, and police wielding sticks drove back a crowd of about 200 relatives, lawyers, journalists and passers-by outside. When news of the sentences came in bits and pieces from people leaving the court, one elderly woman joyfully distributed sweets and soft drinks, saying she had heard her son was among those acquitted. The men were put to trial after police raided a Nile boat restaurant in May and accused them of taking part in a gay sex party. Egyptian law does not explicitly refer to homosexuality, and prosecutors leveled charges including debauchery and contempt of religion.
Sherif Farahat received the longest sentence – five years for debauchery, contempt of religion, falsely interpreting the Quran and exploiting Islam to promote deviant ideas. Mahmoud Ahmed Allam received three years on the religious charges, but was acquitted of debauchery. Twenty others were sentenced to two years and one man was sentenced to one year.
"Egypt will not be used for the defamation of manhood and will not be a hub for gay communities," prosecutor Ashraf Hilal told the court in September.
The accused entered the courtroom Wednesday wearing white prison uniforms and hiding their faces behind masks and handkerchiefs.
Local and international human rights groups criticized the trial. Amnesty International accused Egypt of prosecuting people for their sexual orientation and said the type of court, the Emergency State Security Court, was not independent. Earlier Wednesday, a director of the U.S.-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Scott Long, said the government was manipulating religion in its prosecution of the accused.
"Fifty-two lives, 52 reputations and 52 human beings are being damaged. This is what is brutal about this," Long said.
Among those arrested on the Nile boat was a teen-ager who had already been sentenced to three years' in prison for homosexuality. The boy, who is 15 according to court papers but 16 according to Amnesty, was tried separately and is appealing the verdict in a juvenile court.
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A Gay writer has criticized the National Enquirer tabloid over rumors
that a September 11 terrorist was Gay. From Gay.com 11/12/2001
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GLAS-NYC demonstrates outside Egyptian Consulate
By Ahbab Staff
8/15/2001
Over 50 Gay activists and friends demonstrated outside the Egyptian Consulate today. The demonstration was in response to a call by Al Fatiha and organized by GLAS with the help of Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch (HRW). The protesters called for the release of the 52 Gay prisoners arrested during the Queen Boat raid in Cairo (see story below). Chanting “Free the Cairo 52” and “Gay Rights are Human Rights”, marchers held signs in both Arabic and English. This action was the first of its kind for GLAS activists and organizers who considered the outcome quite a success. Earlier that day, Al Hayat, the premier Arab newspaper published a story on their front page about the case and the upcoming protest (see article in Arabic). That fact alone is a landmark and shows how far gay issues have come as far as visibility and awareness in the Arab world. The protest was part of an international effort to raise awareness of the case with demonstrations in London, Geneva, Washington DC, San Francisco and Bonn, Germany.
A vice-squad dragnet snares gay revelers on the Queen Boat
By Hossam Bahgat
Cairo Times 5/15/2001
Fifty-five Egyptian men were arrested on 10 May after police raided the Queen Boat, a tourist boat moored on the Nile across from the Marriott Hotel in Zamalek. After spending the night at the vice-squad headquarters in Abdin station, the men were questioned for two days by High State Security Prosecution on charges of "exploiting religion to promote extreme ideas to create strife and belittling revealed religions." If found guilty. the defendants could face up to five years in prison. The prosecution ordered the men to be detained for 15 days pending an investigation.
According to eyewitnesses, ten undercover officers from both state security and the vice squad entered the boatís discotheque, known as a gay hang-out on Thursday nights, around 2am. After ten minutes of watching the dancing crowd, they started arresting the Egyptian men present and loading them onto three vans parked outside. The boatís manager, Mamdouh Eleiwa, told the Cairo Times that a surgeon and professor at Cairo Universityís Faculty of Medicine was slapped on the face several times by a police officer and called a derogatory slang word for homosexual when he refused to go. Neither the boatís staff nor its owner, business woman and retired fashion model Madiha Hassan Dergham, were summoned for questioning.
Although several foreign men were present when the raid took place, none were arrested. Neither were any of the four Egyptian women who were present. "The fact that Egyptian men were exclusively arrested is just disgusting," said a British eyewitness who asked for anonymity. "Westerners should not be immune from the law," he added. At the time of the raid, he was dancing with his Egyptian friend and flatmate, who is currently in jail.
A source in the prosecutorís office told reporters on 12 May that the defendants were "practicing deviant rituals and holding parties were they practiced group sex and abnormal activities." While there is no mention of homosexuality in the Egyptian penal code, some statutes criminalizing obscenity and public indecency have been used against gay men in the past. The Queen Boat has been raided before, but detainees have been released after 3 to 10 days of detention in police stations. This is the first time that the arrested men have been transferred to the prosecutorís office to face charges. If officially charged, the defendants will stand before a state security court, whose rulings are final and incontestable.
The morning after the prosecutorís statement, different versions of the story were all over the local press. The state-owned Al Ahram published in its crime page that the defendants were members of a new devil worshipping cult that included students, doctors and other professionals. "The defendants considered themselves to be of the people of the Prophet Lot and took [the 8th-century Abbasid poet] Abu Nuwas as their prophet...They tried to recruit new members to their cult and called on them to go to swim in the Dead Sea in Jordan to be blessed by its water," the paper added. Al Ahramís coverage of state security cases is widely considered to reflect the prosecutionís views.
Other papers added that the cult held weekly male wedding parties on the boat and were in the middle of one when they were arrested. The boatís staff denied these claims and complained about inaccurate media coverage. "Journalists come to me and listen to what happened and then make up completely different stories," Eleiwa said bitterly.
The heavy press coverage of the case is reminiscent of a case in 1997, when 78 teenage men were arrested and accused of establishing a satanic cult. They were released after two months of detention, and the case was never brought to the court, but the some segments of the press later criticized the papers who had printed the names and pictures of the defendants, thus tarnishing their image in society. This week, official, opposition and independent newspapers published the names of the 55 defendants and some front pages carried their pictures with their eyes crossed over in black.
"We have learned from the stateís behavior to be skeptical about
official statements. But if it is true that these charges were fabricated to
prosecute homosexuals due to the absence of laws that criminalize
homosexuality, then the state is way out of line," said Gasser Abdel Razeq
of the Hisham Mubarak Center for Law. A lawyer from the center tried to meet
one of the defendants at the prosecution, but was prohibited. Although Abdel
Razeq told the Cairo Times that the center will follow up the case, he added
that their interest in this particular case is only documentation, with no
intention to provide legal service for any of the defendants. The reaction of
other local human rights group was similar. "We generally defend liberties
but there are red
lines that we should stop at," said Samir Al Bagouri of the Association
for Human Rights Legal Aid. Secretary-General of the Egyptian Organization for
Human Rights Hafez Abu Saada said that defending gay rights was not part of his
groupís mandate. "Personally, I donít like the subject of homosexuality,
and I donít want to defend them," Abu Saada said.
"When we started campaigning against female genital mutilation people said we wanted all of Egyptian society to work in prostitution," said Mohammed Zarií of the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRCAP). "We live in a conservative society that condemns homosexuality and we have to keep that in mind." Homosexuality is a big taboo in Egypt, and local human rights groups are often criticized for following a Western agenda.
However, Zarií said his center is willing to provide legal aid for defendants who were subject to torture or assault during detention. Although the HRCAP has reported on previous violations of prisonerís rights in Tora prison, where the defendants are detained, Zarií said that it is mainly political prisoners who are subject to such violations. "Defendants in cases which receive heavy media coverage are less likely to be subject to torture," he added. Al Wafd of 14 May said the defendants will be subject to forensic exams to ascertain if they have ever engaged in homosexual sex.
The London-based Human Rights Watch had not issued a statement as of press time, but the London office director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, Hania Mufti, told the Cairo Times that her office would take up the issue with the interior ministry and the state security prosecutor as soon as possible.
Although the Queen Boat was not closed down, their is a heavy police
presence at its entrance and a corresponding lack of guests.
Dubai closes club after gay night
Sunday, 1 April, 2001, 17:55 GMT 18:55 UK
Gulf authorities take a tough stand against gays
By Middle East correspondent Frank Gardner
The authorities in Dubai have shut down a nightclub for hosting a gay night featuring a transvestite DJ from Britain. The Diamond Club was closed on the orders of Dubai's Crown Prince, General Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, after thousands of flyers alerted the authorities. The closure demonstrates how the Gulf states still take a tough public stand against homosexuality. Even by Dubai's racy standards, the ''Fluff Night'' at the Diamond nightclub was too much. The organisers of Dubai's first public gay night sent out 2,500 flyers, inviting residents of the Gulf emirate to come out of the closet. Taboo broken
They offered a prize for the best-dressed transvestite, and the evening itself was hosted by a British transvestite DJ from a nightclub in Birmingham. Like all the Gulf Arab states, Dubai officially frowns on homosexuality. So, when government officials went to the club to watch, they closed the evening down and filed a report. The Diamond Club has now been shut, but for the hundreds who attended its gay night, a taboo has been broken.
Dubai is home to thousands of British expatriates, and it is attracting some of the world's top DJs. It has a flourishing nightclub scene, and drugs like ecstasy are readily available, although strictly illegal.
As the commercial capital of the Gulf and a major international port, Dubai also
attracts large numbers of prostitutes from the former Soviet Union.
Gay Lebanese march in Aussie Mardi Gras: Hummusexuality is not Tabouli
March 14, 2001
From The Daily Star
SYDNEY: With a banner reading "Lebanese And Out" and the Australian Southern Cross shining on a rainbow-colored Cedar, the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras marked a milestone: the first year Lebanese were officially represented in the parade celebrating gay pride. Philippe, 48, an educator, explained why he and others, were motivated to organize this float, despite the controversy it has aroused. We want the Lebanese and Arab communities to realize it has a certain amount of gays in it. Accept these people, love them, and allow these people to lead a healthy life. These are human lives you are dealing with. And controversy has emerged in many forms through this float. "It ís totally wrong," insisted John, a 23-year-old builder. "If they want to be gay, that ís nothing to do with being Lebanese. You can't be Lebanese and gay".
The rainbow-colored Cedar, the symbol of gay Lebanese in Lebanon and around the world, came up for criticism. "That's so offensive," he said. "People have died for the Lebanese flag The Cedar is Lebanon". "You can't blame Lebanese for being offended," said Umm Dany, 42, a community worker. "They have the right to be offended. It's challenging and offensive to the flag." Others such as Lisa, a 28-year-old student, are offended for a different reason. "The Cedar was the symbol used by the Phalange, under which they massacred thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians. That is offensive." Meanwhile, Rima, a 22-year-old student, couldnít believe it. "It looked so cool! Where do I get the T-shirt?" she asked. While Philippe understands the offense using the Cedar has caused, he defends his choice. "The Cedar is for everyone. We're combining the Southern Cross and the Cedar, and it says, "Lebanese and Out." The stars are out, the cedar is out, and we are out."
While Philippe is the organizer of the float, he has not "come out to his family "... not deliberately. In his case, there was no need. "One day my sister read my diary, she talked to my other sisters about it. They were the ones who talked to mum about it, and through them there was no more pressure on me to marry and I've never come into it." Philippe realizes that the desire for love and acceptance often compels young gay Lebanese to keep their sexuality a secret. However 25-year-old Fatima, another student, took a different path. She came out to her parents a month ago. "Part of the reason why I came out (to my parents)," she explains, "is because I wanted that relationship with my parents, I wanted to be close to them. That's always been my dream. Emotionally I hadn't felt that bond with them when I was younger. Part of the reason was that I was gay and I was scared. And my dream was to be best friends with my parents but I donít communicate with my parents any more. I feel like I've lost everything."
"Most people are not equipped to handle that sort of thing,"
Philippe explains, "especially when it's so close to their family. So what
they do is fall back on what the culture tells them, what the relatives,
neighbors might think. You'll find in most cases the initial reaction by
parents is shock and
horror. It's like a death, like a loss. People go through stages. Shock,
denial, followed by acceptance They take time to come to terms with it."
While gay Lebanese are often sexual outcasts in their own communities, the gay
community is at times no less welcoming. Some note a perverse form of
Orientalism, or racism, prevalent in the predominantly Anglo, and
Anglo-centric, gay community. Samir explains: 'There are terms for it: Arabs
are falafel, Asians are rice. And a white man who has a taste for Arabs or
Asians is called a Falafel Queen or a Rice Queen. It's a totally racist
concept. It's a sort of power play where a Falafel will compete for the
attentions of the white guy. The whole thing is extremely racist, but then
again, the gay scene is very racist, sexist space. If you look at gay
society it's only a safe haven for white middle class gay men, Being a
person of color, you're marginalized, you're thrown to the Falafel Queens, if
you like."
Although racism within the gay community was much discussed, Elias and
Philippe's perspective focused rather on racism in "mainstream"
society
toward Arabs, and Lebanese. In the context of a barrage of negative articles
about Lebanese-Australians (and despite the fact that New South Wales new
governor-general is of Arab origin), Elias and Philippe intended the float to
convey Arab, and specifically, Lebanese pride. "We wanted to send a
message in a positive light, that we are Lebanese and that's nothing to be
ashamed of." While Elias and Philippe have hit at a few nerves regarding
Lebanese identity, they haven't lost their sense of humor. Another message
displayed on the float read: Hummusexuality Is Not Tabouli.
GAY MARRIAGE RESULTS IN PROSECUTION
Cairo Times English Edit. - Egypt updates 4/21/00
Society may frown on homosexuality, but the state rarely interferes in
relations between gay men. However, when the Egyptian press discovered that two
men in Zaqaziq had gotten "married" by drawing up what the press
called a private "urfi" contract, the state was forced to act. Both
men were taken
into custody. Thirty-eight year old Mumin S.--as he was called by the
press--was charged with a "violation of honor by threat," while Amir
Mohammed
Saber Abduh Ali, 18 or 19, was initially held on charges of practicing immoral
and indecent behavior before being released on 13 April. While local press
coverage carried somewhat conflicting information, all reported that the
relationship between the two men had been going on for approximately one and a
half years, during which Ali worked for Mumin at the latter's computer game
store. Ali's father reportedly took his son to the police station to file a
complaint against Mumin for threatening his son after neighbors allegedly told
him something was fishy in the relationship between the two men. Al Maydan of
11 April reported that the youth at first denied that there was any sexual
contact between the two men, but later confessed that indeed they had been
carrying on a relationship for some time. He subsequently testified that
he had been tricked into the relationship.
Saudi Arabia Sentences 9 Gays
PlanetOut News Staff - April 17, 2000
Under Islamic law, a group of men caught cross-dressing and having gay sex
will get 2,600 lashes and spend up to six years in prison.
Nine men in Qunfuda, Saudi Arabia who pleaded guilty April 15 to cross-dressing
and homosexual acts have been sentenced to 2,400 -2,600 lashes and 5 - 6 years
in prison, according to the Associated Press. The floggings will be delivered
at 15-day intervals in sessions of 48 - 52 lashes each.
London's Independent said the sentences "blatantly violate the United
Nations convention" on torture and punishment, but they reflect the
standards set by Sharia, Islam's religious law. Human rights watchdog Amnesty
International, which has denounced such stringent punishments in Saudi Arabia,
has charged that Saudi suspects are often denied legal counsel or fair
trials. Police said they had been tipped off that the men were acting
strangely, so they followed them and learned they were wearing women's garments
and having sex with each other.