Gay Trial Ends in Egypt
The Advocate,
November 15, 2001
An Egyptian court convicted two defendants accused of leading a sex ring of
52 gay men, sentencing one to five years in prison and the other to three
years in a case that touched on a subject considered highly taboo. Twenty-nine
of the accused were acquitted Wednesday, prompting ululations of joy from
family members who had staunchly denied the charges and accused the Egyptian
media of sensationalizing the trial. Twenty other defendants were sentenced to
two years’ imprisonment each for debauchery, according to the official
verdict. One defendant received one year in prison for debauchery.
The four-month trial shocked Egypt, a conservative nation in which
homosexuality is seen as a shameful sin. Relatives of the accused often
jostled journalists covering the trial, accusing them of defaming the
defendants. The accused entered the courtroom Wednesday wearing white prison
uniforms and hiding their faces behind masks and handkerchiefs. There were
chaotic scenes outside the courthouse before the verdicts were announced. Only
a few people had been allowed into the courtroom. Police wielding sticks drove
back a crowd of about 200 relatives, lawyers, journalists, and passersby and
closed the courthouse doors. As news of the sentences came in bits and pieces
from people leaving the court, relatives ran to the courthouse windows and
shouted requests for information on the verdicts. One elderly woman joyfully
distributed sweets and soft drinks, saying she had heard her son was among
those acquitted.
Inside the courtroom the verdicts were met by angry shouts from the
defendants crowded into a fenced-in dock. The presiding judge continued to
read his decision, ignoring the shouts from relatives who chanted, "We
will appeal to God! He is our defender!" The two alleged ringleaders,
Sherif Farahat and Mahmoud Ahmed Allam, faced multiple charges. Farahat
received five years for debauchery, contempt of religion, falsely interpreting
the Koran, and exploiting Islam to promote deviant ideas. Allam received three
years in prison on the religious charges but was acquitted of debauchery.
Earlier Wednesday a director of the U.S.-based International Gay and Lesbian
Human Rights Commission, Scott Long, condemned the verdicts as "a
travesty" of justice.
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