Egypt Denies it is Persecuting Gays
Gay.com U.K., May 21,
2002
SUMMARY: The Egyptian government has denied claims by a group of U.S.
Congress members that it is persecuting gays.
The Egyptian government has denied claims by a group of U.S. Congress
members that it is persecuting gays.
In March, 40 U.S. lawmakers sent a second letter to the Egyptian embassy
calling on the government to stop persecuting homosexuals.
Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy has replied to the letter, maintaining that
his country does not persecute gay men and stating that there is no law
explicitly forbidding homosexuality in Egypt.
Fahmy explained that a group of gay men arrested at a boat party on the
Nile "were convicted essentially under a law which penalizes
promiscuity/prostitution" and "that there is no distinction or
discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation."
In past months Egypt has tried a large number of gay men, charging them
with "habitual practice of debauchery." Many have been sentenced to
prison and hard labor.
Many of the men went through the public humiliation of being examined to
see if they had engaged in anal intercourse. The results of these examinations
were presented at hearings before the Supreme State Security Prosecution.
The group of U.S. Congress members replied to Fahmy, saying, "Your
selective invocation of certain human rights conventions when it suits your
purposes, and your ignoring of others when they don’t, is
unpersuasive."
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