Contact Egyptian Govt. on August 29 — Second Day of Trial
Al-Fatiha Foundation,
August 27, 2001
Action Alert
Media Contact:
Faisal Alam
Founder & Director
US Tel. #: 202-390-5305
Email: mfaisalalam@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.al-fatiha.net
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Al-Fatiha, an international organization dedicated to LGBT Muslims &
their Friends called for a renewed campaign against the Egyptian government to
denounce the trial of 52 men who have been in prison for more than 3 months.
The trial of 52 men who have been charged with "obscene behavior"
and "contempt for religion" continues on Wednesday, August 29, 2001.
On Wednesday, August 29, lesbian. gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT)
people around the world, people of faith, and all people of conscience are
asked to contact their local Egyptian consulate or embassy to protest the
trial.
The men who were arrested because of their alleged sexual orientation and
have been accused of practising debauchery. The two main defendants have also
been charged with using religion to spread extremist ideas.
At the first hearing on August 15 the men arrived to court in white prison
uniforms. They were crammed into an iron cage at the side of the court,
handcuffed to one another.
According to a BBC report one of the defendants, an English teacher at the
British Council in Cairo, struggled to talk to reporters through the bars of
the cage.
"I want to know, what have I done? I am not a criminal to be in the
prison. I’ve been in the prison for 95 days, for what crime? People are
suffering, we are really suffering. What’s the aim behind all this?"
In July 2001 Al-Fatiha launched an international campaign against the
Egyptian government by declaring August 15 (the first day of the trial) an
International Day of Solidarity and Mourning. Thousands of people around the
world joined Al-Fatiha to speak out against the LGBT human rights violations
occurring in Egypt.
Ten demonstrations and protests attended by hundreds of people were held in
front of Egyptian embassies, consulates, and other government buildings. In
addition to the demonstrations and protests thousands of people around the
world flooded the Egyptian the government with phone calls, faxes, and emails
to protest the arrest of the 52 men and to demand for their immediate and
unconditional release.
Although homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt, it is a major cultural and
social taboo.
At the first day of the trial some of the men covered their faces with
tissues to avoid being identified.
But their names and some of their addresses have been published in Egyptian
newspapers. Defense lawyers say the press has already convicted them by
publishing lurid and false accounts of gay orgies on board a floating disco,
where most of the men were detained.
If found guilty of practicing debauchery, the men could face up to three
years in jail.
Action to Be Taken:
On Wednesday, August 29, 2001 telephone, fax, and email the Egyptian
consulate or embassy near you.
The following is a sample of what you can include in your letter taken from
Amnesty International’s action alert on the Egypt case.
Please write letters to Egyptian authorities that:
- express your concern at the ongoing detention of these men
- inform them that Amnesty International (an international human rights
organization) believes that the majority, if not all, of these men are
detained purely on the grounds of
- their alleged sexual orientation
- if people are detained solely on account of their sexual orientation,
Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience and call
for their immediate and unconditional release
- express your concern at the allegations of torture and ill-treatment
during arrest and detention and call on the authorities to conduct prompt
investigations into these serious allegations.
- express concern that the trial is being held in Emergency State Security
Court, which does not meet Egypt’s international obligations and
violates international legal standards for fair trials.
Letters should be addressed to:
Government officials in Egypt to contact:
His Excellency, President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt.
Tel: + 20 2 910288 / 243 1915 /245 9816
Fax: + 20 2 390 1998, 20 2 260-5417 , 20 2
355-5700, 20 2 795 3192 or
20 2 795 8016
E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
Salutation: Your excellency
His Excellency, Counsellor Farouk Seif Al Nasr
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Midan Lazoughly
Cairo
Arab Republic of Egypt
Fax: +20 2 355 8103
E-mail: mojeb@idsc1.gov.eg
Salutation: Your Excellency
Mr Ahmed Maher Al-Sayad
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Corniche al-Nil, Maspiro
Cairo
EGYPT
Fax: +20 2 574 9533
E-mail: minexter@idscl.gov.eg or ForMin@idsc.gov.eg
Salutation: Your Excellency
Counsellor Maher ‘Abd al-Wahid
Public Prosecutor
Dar al-Qadha al-’Ali Ramses Street
Cairo, Egypt
Fax: + 20 2 577 47 16
Salutation: Dear Public Prosecutor
Please also write to Egypt’s Embassies abroad. If your country is not in
the list below, go to http://www.mfa.gov.eg/missions_a.asp?id=0505
to find contact information.
AUSTRALIA
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
1 Darwin Avenue Yarralumla
Canberra, ACT 2600
Tel: (62) 273-4437/8
Fax: (612)62734279
BRAZIL
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Setor Embaixada Norte Av. das Naceos
Lote 12
Brasilia - DF 70435 –900
Tel.: (5561) 323 8800
Fax: (5561) 323 1039
E-mail: embegypt@tba.com.br
CANADA
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
454 Laurier Avenue East
Ottawa, Ontario KIN 6R3
Tel: (613) 234-4931 / 35/58
Fax: (613)2349347
E-mail: egyptemb@sympatico.ca
FRANCE
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
56 Avenue d’Iena
Paris 75116
Tel: (33) (1) 47 20 97 70 / 47 20 75 97
Fax: (33) (1) 47230643
E-mail: egypt_embassy_paris@hotmail.com
GERMANY
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Waldstrasse 15
Berlin, 13156
Tel.: (4930)4771048 – 4771250
Fax: (4930)4771049
E-mail: Egembassy@hotmail.com
INDIA
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
1/50 M, Niti Marg, Chanakyapuri
NEW DELHI- 110021
Tel.: (9111) 6114096- 6114097
Fax: (9111) 6885355
E-mail: egyembindia@vsnl.com
SOUTH AFRICA
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
270 Bourke Street, Muckleneuk
PO Box 30025
Sunnyside 0132
Pretoria
Tel.: (2712)3431590/3431591
Fax: (2712)3431082
TURKEY
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Ataturk Bulvari no. 126
06680 Kavaklidere Ankara
PO Box 06680
Ankara
Tel.: (90312)4684647/4261026/4266478
Fax: (90312)4270099
E-mail: egankara@yahoo.com
UNITED KINGDOM
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
26 South Street
London W1Y 6DD
Tel: (44) 020 7499-2401, 020 7499-3304
Fax: (44) 020 7355-3568 / 491-154
E-mail: etembuk@hotmail.com
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Ct NW
Washington DC 20008-2023
Fax: 202 244 4319
E-mail: Egypt-embassy@usa.net
—————————————————————————
Background Information:
IGLHRC - http://www.iglhrc.org
Amnesty International – http://www.amnestyusa.org/outfront
Al-Fatiha – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/al-fatiha-news
Al-Fatiha is an international organization dedicated to Muslims who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, those questioning their sexual
orientation or gender identity, and their Friends.
Al-Fatiha
PO Box 33532
Washington, DC 20033
Email: gaymuslims@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.al-fatiha.net
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