Rothman Leads Bipartisan Congressional Coalition Urging Egypt to Cease Torture
of Gay Men
Co-Authors Letter To Egyptian President Mubarak
Expressing Concerns, Gets 43 Other Members of Congress To Co-Sign
Congressman Steve Rothman,
May 6, 2004
202-225-5061 (office)
Washington, DC—Deeply concerned and troubled by
numerous reports of torture by the Egyptian government against gay men,
Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ9) co-authored and sent a letter today to
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urging him to personally speak out against
and work to eliminate all abuse against gay men. Rothman co-authored the
letter, which was signed by a total of 44 Members of Congress, with
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA4) and Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA12).
“We are writing to express our strong concerns
regarding the treatment of homosexual men by the Egyptian government,
particularly in light of the report released on March 1, 2004 by Human Rights
Watch ... [which] details Egypt’s extensive repression, entrapment, and
torture of men who engage in the ‘habitual practice of debauchery’—the
vague legal charge used to criminalize homosexual behavior in Egyptian law,”
Rothman and his colleagues wrote in the letter. “We regard the repression,
entrapment, and torture of individuals based on their real or perceived sexual
orientation to be clear human rights violations. We sincerely hope Egypt will
abide by the requirements of the treaties signed and laws in place, and that
you personally will speak out against and work to prevent any future incidents
of torture, including the torture of homosexual men.”
The 144-page Human Rights Watch report includes
testimonies by torture victims which described situations in which they were
bound, suspended in painful positions, burned with cigarettes, submerged in
ice-cold water, and subjected to electrical shocks on their limbs and
genitals. Rothman and his colleagues argued that this persecution undermines
the legal protections for privacy and due process, not only for gay men, but
for all Egyptians.
Rothman and his colleagues also wrote to Mubarak, “As
you know, Egypt is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) Treaty, and in November 2002 the United Nations
Committee against Torture issued 19 recommendations to Egypt comprising
specific measures to be undertaken by the government in order to eradicate
torture. The treaty and the UN recommendations prohibit the use of torture and
protect torture victims through the conduct of swift and impartial
investigations. Furthermore, Article 42 of Egypt’s Constitution declares
that any detained person “shall be treated in a manner concomitant with the
preservation of his dignity” and that “no physical or moral harm is to be
inflicted upon him.”
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other
organizations have been documenting arbitrary detention and torture in Egypt
for more than a decade. Egypt has been sighted for its routine torture and
persecution of Islamic loyalists, human rights activists, government and
anti-war dissidents, and Coptic Christians. Egypt is not only a signatory of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Treaty but
also has been a focus of the UN Committee against Torture. In addition,
Egypt’s own constitution declares that “no physical or moral harm is to be
inflicted upon” a detained person. Discrimination, entrapment, and torture
based on real or perceived sexual orientation must be treated as clear human
rights violations.
Rothman has a solid record in support of equal rights for
gays and lesbians. He has received a perfect score from the Human Rights
Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization, for his voting
record each year he has served in Congress. Rothman is also the proud
cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and provide basic
protections to ensure fairness in the workplace for Americans who are
currently denied equal protection under the law.
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