Court
Acquits 11 Men in Gay Trial
Associated
Press, July 20, 2003
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/world/Viewdet.asp?ID=763&cat=b
CAIRO,
Egypt—An appeals court acquitted 11 men of charges of debauchery
linked to homosexual activity, one of their lawyers said Sunday.
As his
three-member panel issued its ruling Saturday, lawyer Helmi al-Rawi said Judge
Mo’azer El-Marsafy told the defendants: “We are so disgusted with you, we
can’t even look at you. What you did is a major sin, but unfortunately the
case has procedural errors and the court had to acquit all of you.”
The 11 had been convicted in April and sentenced to up
to three years in prison in one of several such cases that have drawn
accusations of anti-gay bias in Egypt from international human rights groups.
The defendants appealed in May.
[Home] [World] [Egypt]
