Egypt jails eight men over 'gay wedding' video
- 10 years ago
Human rights groups have condemned the three year jail terms given to eight men who had appeared in an online video purporting to show Egypt’s first gay wedding.
A court in Cairo sentenced them for spreading indecent images and inciting debauchery.
The judge ruled that they would also be subject to police supervision following the completion of their prison sentence.
The defendants, who had denied the charges, stood silent in the court room cage as the verdict was read, one of them holding up a copy of the Koran.
Gay marriage is not legal in Egypt, a conservative Muslim society where the footage, which went viral on social media sites in August, caused a stir online.
Although 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.
A court in Cairo sentenced them for spreading indecent images and inciting debauchery.
The judge ruled that they would also be subject to police supervision following the completion of their prison sentence.
The defendants, who had denied the charges, stood silent in the court room cage as the verdict was read, one of them holding up a copy of the Koran.
Gay marriage is not legal in Egypt, a conservative Muslim society where the footage, which went viral on social media sites in August, caused a stir online.
Although 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.