EGYPTIANS FACE TRIAL ON GAY SEX CHARGES CAIRO, JUNE 28 [issue 26] Fifty-two Egyptian men will stand trial on charges of practicing gay sex on a floating nightclub on the River Nile in Cairo, Egypt's state-owned MENA news agency said Thursday. The case has drawn the attention of human rights watchdog Amnesty International which said three weeks ago it was "gravely concerned" about it. Attorney general Maher Abdel Wahid referred the 52 men to a state security court, whose verdicts cannot be appealed, but a date for the trial to begin has not been set, MENA said. The two main defendants stand accused of "exploiting the Islamic religion to spread extremist ideas" as well as practicing gay sex "as part of the group's rituals in front of the remaining defendants and others with the aim of insulting the heavenly religions and sparking civil strife." The remaining 50 defendants are charged with "practicing debauchery with men," which is interpreted as engaging in homosexual practices in Egypt where Islam is the majority religion and gay sex is illegal. MENA recalled that the Egyptian press has dubbed it the case of a "devil-worshipping" cult, but the group has not been specifically charged with membership in a religious cult. Though the authorities mentioned "rituals," they did not disclose what they were. The men have been in prison since their arrests during a police raid on a Nile boat in the early hours of May 11 and have allegedly been subjected to "torture or ill-treatment," according to allegations raised by Amnesty. "Amnesty International believes that the majority, if not all, of these men are detained purely on the grounds of their alleged sexual orientation," the organisation said in a statement earlier this month. "If people are detained solely on account of their sexual orientation, Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release," it added. The group of young people was taken into custody from the Queen Boat nightclub moored on the Nile in the wealthy Zamalek district. JAILED HOMOSEXUALS HAVE LITTLE SYMPATHY IN EGYPT Amil Khan Middle East Times Staff [ Issue 25, 2001. ] Walid (not his real name) has been in jail since May 11, when police raided a nightclub at which he had been partying the night away. After being hauled into waiting trucks, Walid and 53 other young Egyptian men were taken into custody, where they have languished ever since. Friends who have visited him say that although he looks well, he no longer smiles. This is not surprising since Walid has very little to smile about. The police raid was an operation against "those taking part in immoral acts," which means homosexuality. The nightclub, which takes up a floor of a boat on the Nile, was well known as a gay hangout and it seems that the police decided to send a signal that this kind of behavior was not going to be tolerated in Egypt. Walid has been caught up in this 'unofficial-official message', and the authorities' action has left him and his family with a very public problem. He had not told his parents and relatives that he was gay, so the news that he was in prison for "immoral behavior" came as a shock. It doesn't stop there, however. After the newspapers printed the photos and names of those in custody alongside stories of frantic homosexual orgies and gay weddings, Walid's family, like the families of all the other men, were doomed to face massive embarrassment and humiliation. On June 8, Amnesty International, the London-based human rights' group, expressed its concern that the men "are detained purely on the grounds of their alleged sexual orientation." It went on to add that if this was the sole basis of their detention "Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release." However, this statement is about the only real support the men in prison have. Local human rights groups are reluctant to get involved. Skirting the issue, Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights Hafez Abu Seada told the Middle East Times, "This case is not the issue. The government arrests all sorts of people including regular criminals and Islamists and they end up in prison for years without charge or investigation." He went on to add, "Everyone arrested has a right to a defense and to be treated well and not tortured." The semi-banned Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters are regularly imprisoned by the police, is usually quick to accuse the government of arresting people on trumped-up charges and abusing their rights, but in this case the group's deputy supreme guide, Mamoun Al Hodeiby, found himself on the same side as the authorities. He told the Middle East Times, "Homosexuality is a great crime in Islam. If people are caught doing something like this then it is up to the government to deal with them." Following the arrest of the men, sensational stories were provided to the press that were later contradicted by eyewitnesses. According to the local press, those arrested had been caught taking part in homosexual group sex while their faces were painted, and there was also a gay wedding taking place at the same time. However, foreigners who were also present but allowed to leave by police, said that the place was a plain nightclub that happened to have a reputation for attracting a lot of gay men. However, homosexuality is frowned upon in Egyptian society and the reports of "orgies" made many Egyptians following the case less likely to show concern for the treatment or rights of those arrested. A 29-year-old accountant from Nasr City said, "they must know that they are not welcome in our society." She added that she supports the arrests and believes that the foreigners should have also been arrested and that "the arrests would send a clear sign to gays in Egypt and abroad that we do not like this kind of behavior here." The local media went on to use Amnesty's position on the issue as a reason to attack the organization. "They force deviancy on Egyptians in the guise of human rights," complained a headline in the weekly Rose Al Youssef magazine. The article called the report "a joke" and went on to explain how the issue highlighted the differences between the Egyptian and "their" points of view. "It [the report] shows the yawning gap in their understanding of our values," the magazine said. It went on to ask, "Why do they want to impose what they believe on us?" It then added, "They see homosexuality as a personal freedom whereas we see it as against our values and an abuse of our principles." The article also went on to call into question Amnesty's judgment, "How can anyone believe them after this report?" one of the sub-headings asked. "From now on, we have to subject everything published by these kinds of organizations to the closest scrutiny." Amnesty and other international human rights organizations are vocal in their condemnation of Egypt's treatment of civil society groups, prisoners, militants and activists. When asked if he thought the media might be trying to discredit international human rights groups so that when they next make a stand on an issue such as election violence or prisoners rights their words will carry less weight amongst Egyptians, Abu Seada said he thought that this could be the case. CONTINUED DETENTION OF ALLEGED GAYS SPARKS INTERNATIONAL CONCERN Tariq Hassan-Gordon Middle East Times Staff [Issue 24] Egyptian authorities continue to keep 54 young Egyptian men behind bars after they were detained over a month ago for alleged homosexual activity. Police arrested the men on May 11, stating that they had been involved in wild sex parties on a restaurant houseboat located off the island district of Zamalek, in Cairo. Five foreigners were also in attendance on the boat, but were released by authorities, who only detained those holding Egyptian identity cards. On June 7, the state security extended their detention for another 15 days after two days of court appearances. During the court hearings the state prosecutor accused the men of "immoral behavior and contempt of religion." The men are being detained at the Tora Prison. Prior to the court appearance, authorities conducted medical examinations of all the men to determine if they had practiced anal sex. State security investigators said that the group was mainly teenagers who had painted their faces and then had group and homosexual sex. Eyewitnesses deny police allegations that sexual activity was taking place, stating that the authorities were lying to cover up the fact that they were rounding up people they suspected of being gay. The international human rights organization Amnesty International released a statement on June 8 stating that it was "gravely concerned about the ongoing detention" of the men solely because of their sexual orientation. "Amnesty International believes that the majority, if not all, of these men are detained purely on the grounds of their alleged sexual orientation," the rights group said. "If people are detained solely on account of their sexual orientation, Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release." Freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes sexual orientation, is protected in regional and international treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although homosexuality is not specifically referred to in Egyptian law, there are regulations regarding "offences against public morals and sensibilities," that have been applied to gays. Amnesty also criticized the Egyptian media coverage of the arrest, saying that it was inappropriate for the newspapers to publish the names of those arrested. If convicted of contempt of religion, the men could face a minimum sentence of six months, or up to five years imprisonment Latest news 22 May 2012: Cairo psychiatrist claims he can "cure" 70 to 75 per cent of gay teenagers.