Crime

Egyptian men due in court after arrest for ‘gay marriage’ video

Sep 22 2014
Written by Joseph McCormick

Men arrested for taking part in a mock same-sex wedding in Egypt are due in court on Tuesday.

Eight men were arrested over a video showing an unofficial same-sex wedding ceremony on a riverboat in the Nile.

The video was posted in April, but had gone viral in Egypt this month, with many calling for the men to be identified and put to death.

The accused are to face trial from Tuesday. They are due in front of a misdemeanour court, facing charges of inciting debauchery and offending public morality.

This is despite reports that ‘doctors’ who subjected the arrested men to intrusive tests for homosexuality last week found that they were not gay.

Forensic authority spokesperson Hisham Abdel-Hamid said: “According to inspection, the seven suspects have never had sex with other men.”

Tests frequently used to determine sexuality in Egypt entail an examination of the man’s anus, though the ‘tests’ have no basis in science and have been condemned by global health authorities.

The public prosecutor’s office said previously that the wedding constituted a criminal act because the images were “humiliating, regrettable and would anger God”.

The men will face charges for inciting debauchery and spreading images that ‘violate public decency’, though passing the arbitrary test may see the charges against them dropped.

Homosexuality is illegal in Egypt, and it is feared that the police are cracking down on the gay community after a surge in raids and arrests earlier this year.

In April, a court sentenced four gay men to jail sentences of up to eight years for “debauchery”, after they threw a party.

52 men were arrested in a raid on a ‘gay’ party in 2001, with 23 of the men receiving prison terms.