The story appears on

Page A4

September 8, 2014

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeWorld

Egypt calls for arrests after gay marriage

EGYPTIAN authorities have ordered the arrest of nine men who appeared in a video purporting to show the country’s first gay marriage, accusing them of inciting debauchery and undermining public morals.

Gay marriage is not legal in Egypt, a conservative Muslim society where the footage, which went viral on social media sites last month, has caused a stir online.

Though homosexuality is not specifically outlawed in Egypt, discrimination is rife. Arrests of gay men occasionally make headlines and the accused are typically charged with debauchery, immorality or blasphemy, drawing criticism from rights groups.

The footage, which was posted on YouTube, appears to show a group of men celebrating a gay wedding on a Nile riverboat.

The public prosecutor’s office said the party took place in April but the footage went viral last month, causing the police to take action.

Its statement described the images as “humiliating, regrettable and would anger God,” concluding that they constituted a criminal act and would be investigated.

The prosecutor told police to arrest the men and ordered the coroner to carry out physical examinations of all the accused with a view to pressing charges.

State news agency Mena said seven men had already been detained while two more were still being sought.

The largest crackdown on homosexuals in Egypt took place in 2001, when police raided a floating disco. Fifty-two men were tried in a case widely criticized by human rights groups and Western governments.


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend