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Jailed homosexuals have little sympathy in Egypt Amil Khan Middle East Times staff http://metimes.com/2K1/issue2001-25/eg/ 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 Islaam. 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. Homosexuality: WHAT IS THE REAL SICKNESS? Islamic Countries Decry Homosexuality at U.N. Meeting..... KhalilFM Speaks on Homosexuality..........Jailed homosexuals have little sympathy in Egypt Pro-Family Groups Attack NEA's Alleged Homosexual Agenda Violence as Serbian homosexuals hold first Gay Pride march |
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